New set of interim rules ban use of movable overhead devices at public performance venues.
Organisers of upcoming concerts in Hong Kong are making last-minute changes to their stage designs as some private venue owners have decided to follow the government’s tightened rules on installations at public performance sites in the wake of an accident at a show by Canto-pop boy band Mirror last week.
A movable giant screen crashed onto the stage during the concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum last Thursday. The Post confirmed on Wednesday that a third performer was also wounded during the incident, as well as the two dancers who were earlier reported to be injured.
Representatives of Canto-pop singer Tyson Yoshi, 28, who will perform at the Star Hall in the International Trade and Exhibition Centre in Kowloon Bay on Friday, said they had to redesign their stage, including removing some installations, after the private venue owner asked them to follow a new set of interim rules imposed by the government that banned the use of movable overhead devices at public performance premises.
“This has affected our planning as we will have to change our stage design a bit to comply with the government’s measure. We are still discussing our changes, but that has definitely increased the workload for everyone,” the singer’s representative said.
“It has always been safety first, but we will have to remove a small amount of installations after the accident last week to prioritise safety even more.”
Canto-pop singer Tyson Yoshi.
Another concert organiser, who asked to remain anonymous, said they had to reach out to a different engineering company after the one they had initially hired to sign off on the safety reports for the stage design had refused to do so following the Mirror accident.
“We did manage to find someone in the end, but that did affect the logistics of our preparation process,” the organiser said.
The “authorised person” appointed for Mirror’s concert is among the parties now being investigated by the government and police following the accident.
AsiaWorld-Expo, another major concert venue in the city, was the first commercial premises to announce plans on Tuesday to follow the government’s tightened rules.
AsiaWorld-Expo.
One of the injured dancers, 27-year-old Mo Lee Kai-yin, suffered a brain haemorrhage and fractured the third and fourth vertebrae in his neck. A medical source said he was still “on tube” and “under sedation” as it took time to stabilise a fractured spine after surgery.
The hospital would decide if Lee needed to undergo more surgery once his situation improved, the source said.
Lee’s parents visited him on Wednesday for the third time, after they arrived from Toronto and tested negative for the coronavirus last Sunday. The medical source said they were briefed by doctors on their son’s latest situation.
A Queen Elizabeth Hospital spokesman said Lee remained in critical condition with stable vital signs.
Lee’s father, Reverend Derek Li Shing-lam, has asked his church friends to pray for his son’s recovery, according to an internal message seen by the Post.
Parents of injured dancer Mo Lee.
He also expressed gratitude to Lee’s girlfriend Natalie So Tsz-ching, a member of local band Collar, saying she had given the dancer “tremendous support”.
Lee’s father said he hoped the medical team would have “wisdom and good treatment proposals”.
Another injured dancer, Chang Tsz-fung, is currently hospitalised at the CUHK Medical Centre, according to a source. His family said that the screen had hit Chang’s head, while he had also suffered injuries on his thighs and pelvis, adding that he had to undergo daily physiotherapy.
A third dancer, Zisac Law Tak-chi, was also injured. In an Instagram post on Tuesday night, Law thanked people for taking care of him.
“Please treat me as [a] normal [person] if you met me on the streets. I do not want to recall what happened and [have it affect] my emotions,” he wrote.
Mirror broke their silence earlier on Monday, with group leader Lokman Yeung posting a statement on his Instagram account saying: “We will take care of each other. Please don’t worry.”
In the statement, Yeung also said three performers were injured in the accident instead of two, as had been widely reported.