After a controversial incident that occurred last night (Friday, 21st July), fans have been fearing for the worst and it looks like that nightmare has come true. Good Vibes Festival, the biggest and most highly anticipated annual music festival in Malaysia, is now officially cancelled.
The news of the cancellation came earlier today (Saturday, 22nd July) after Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil posted the announcement on Facebook. Here are the details:
For context, last night, the festival’s headliner, UK band The 1975’s lead singer Matt Healy made a controversial political statement challenging the Malaysian government about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual (LGBT) laws before proceeding to kiss his male bandmate on stage.
Due to this, their set was cut short and brought the entire event to an abrupt stop. Shortly after, the event organiser apologised to fans for the incident and offered an extension to their Day 1 ticket purchase to enjoy the rest of the festival but unfortunately, it seems that their efforts were in vain. Fahmi Fadzil announced that the government has ordered an immediate cancellation of the 3-day festival.
“The unity government’s stand is very clear. There will be no compromise with any party that challenges, belittles, or violates Malaysian laws. Therefore, I have directed for the immediate cancellation of the festival, which was supposed to continue until tomorrow,” he wrote.
As for refunds for ticket purchases, the Communications and Digital Minister urged the concert organiser to come up with a mechanism to compensate ticket holders. Moments after the news broke out, Good Vibes Festival released an official statement regarding the cancellation.
“We sincerely apologise to all our ticket holders, vendors, sponsors, and partners. We are aware of the time, energy, and effort you put into making this festival a success and we value your steadfast support. We will update you on refund mechanics as soon as possible,” the statement reads.
Apart from the incident, most of the event went smoothly throughout the entire day. Concertgoers were having the time of their lives enjoying the food, games, and attractions while also listening to their favourite artists performing on stage. Here’s our reel to show what went down:
