Coldplay Conundrum: One More Sleep To Concert Day But Calls For Cancellation Continue
Calls for Coldplay’s concert to either be cancelled or postponed continue with one day left before the band takes to the stage.
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To borrow from a popular Indonesian movie title, “Ada apa dengan Coldplay?” (Much ado about Coldplay.)
Having a huge fan base here, Coldplay’s decision to finally hold a concert in Kuala Lumpur on 22 November was met with much joy.
For the sake of clarity, let us begin with a timeline of events.
May 7, 2023: Teaser of the band’s Music of the Spheres tour shows up on Bukit Bintang billboard.
May 9: Live Nation officially announced that Coldplay will perform in Malaysia.
(May 11: PAS man Nasrudin Hassan calls for boycott of concert citing LGBT matters, shared a screenshot of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim welcoming the band to KL.)
Also May 11: Ticket prices announced.
May 16: CIMB pre-sale opens for members.
May 17: General ticket sales open to public.
There were some hullaballoo surrounding the concert in May and June, with Arts, Live Festival, and Events Association (Alife Malaysia) saying political protests significantly contributed to the band performing only for one night in Malaysia as opposed to multiple nights in Singapore. Things then went relatively quiet.
Until 6 November, when Majlis Ulama ISMA chairman Datuk Zamri Hashim issued a statement calling for the concert to be cancelled.
They too cited LGBT matters and the war going on in Gaza. They called for Muslims to not be part of the concert.
Since then, social media, particularly TikTok saw a rise in content calling for the concert to be called off.
PAS politicians too renewed the earlier calls for the concert to be cancelled.
With LGBT and Palestine being the two main points being used, a PKR politician in Terengganu today decided to add one more point to the list: the floods in Terengganu.
PKR’s Kuala Terengganu chief Azan Ismail is asking Anwar to postpone the concert as several states in the east coast are now facing floods, as reported by Malaysiakini.
He said to be sensitive to the situation in light of the monsoon season in the east coast, it is not very appropriate to organise entertainment events.
Much ado about Coldplay
It is unclear at this time if the two concerts of local Malaysian artists held over last weekend in Kuala Lumpur had taken into account the sensitivities of flood victims.
The prime minister was even asked in Parliament about the government’s position regarding the concert following the Federal Territories mufti who had also discouraged Muslims from attending, as reported by the NST.
Who brought this question up in Parliament? Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal.
Anwar, without skipping a beat, replied by saying Coldplay is pro-Palestine. He then said he would discuss with the FT mufti.
With less than 24 hours to go before Chris Martin and gang take to the Bukit Jalil National Stadium stage, safe to say Live Nation and ticket holders will be nursing a metaphorical headache until the show actually goes off without a hitch.
To Coldplay, Selamat Datang Ke Malaysia!
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