IMC Live Global has announced that One Love Asia Festival will be cancelled due to the uncertainty of COVID-19 restrictions in Singapore.

The concert was scheduled to take place on 16 and 17 October 2021 at Bayfront Event Space. It featured a lineup including Mandopop singers Stefanie Sun, Jolin Tsai, Joker Xue, and Tanya Chua. K-pop star BoA, as well as local rappers Shigga Shay and THELIONCITYBOY, were also slated to perform.

One Love Asia Festival was first announced in January 2020, and was subsequently postponed to November of that year. In October 2020, the organisers announced that the concert would be pushed back to October 2021, until its cancellation today.   

"The decision to cancel was difficult but necessary given that the safety of all fans, artistes and staff remain our highest priority. IMC Live Global has taken into account the advisory from the Singapore government on tightening the safe management measures amid rise in COVID-19 cases," shared the organisers. "At this juncture, it is not clear when Singapore's COVID-19 measures will ease, with the many health and safety risks the pandemic presents. In this, we seek everyone’s kind understanding."

You can check out the full statement from One Love Asia Festival below:

Ticket holders who have purchased from SISTIC can expect to receive full refunds. Those who have purchased their tickets with a credit card, regardless of whether the purchase was made via the Internet, the SISTIC hotline or a SISTIC authorised agent, will receive an automatic refund issued by SISTIC from July onwards. The tickets will be invalidated, and no other action will be required from the ticket holder. For more information, check out the One Love Asia Festival website here. 

One Love Festival Asia is the latest in a spate of event cancellations and postponements following the Singapore government’s announcement of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) measures on 14 May. The Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) recently cancelled five live productions, including dance and classical music concert The Rhythm of Us. The Esplanade also cancelled several in-person performances for its Flipside festival, switching to livestreams instead.  

According to the newest advisory from the National Arts Council (NAC), all indoor and outdoor live performances should be deferred, unless these have been announced and publicised before 5 May. 

Live performances that have been publicised before 5 May and which are scheduled to take place from 8 May through 13 June may only proceed with approval from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI). From 16 May to 13 June, audiences will be capped at 50 people without pre-event testing or 100 people with pre-event testing.

Additionally, from 16 May to 13 June, all performers must be properly masked at all times on stage. Live singing and playing of instruments that require intentional expulsion of air (i.e. wind and brass instruments) are also not allowed.