Mass cancellation of events in Hong Kong amid protests

Ongoing tension between protestors and police in Hong Kong has resulted in the cancellation of several events in Hong Kong including Rise, a large-scale tech conference penciled in for March 2020.

Organisers of the conference, Web Summit, said in a statement: “Over recent months, we have been monitoring the ongoing situation in Hong Kong. Our number one concern is the wellbeing, safety, and security of attendees at our events. Given the uncertainty of the situation by early 2020 and after consulting with experts and advisories, we have decided to postpone RISE until 2021.”

This year’s edition of Rise pulled in over 16,000 attendees.

Clockenflap, the city’s biggest annual music and arts festival, was also cancelled because of the tensions. The festival was set to take place on November 22, with headliners Mumford & Sons and Halsey. In a statement issued last Friday, organisers said “until this week we were fully committed to delivering the festival. Unfortunately, the situation has now made this impossible”.

Other events that have been cancelled or suspended are Ipsos’ Affluent Asia 2019 launch event, Mind HK’s Media Awards, and the Oxfam Trailwalker run.