A series of concerts by Hong Kong band Mirror has been postponed following a serious accident on Thursday night in which two performers were injured after being hit by a giant LED video screen that fell from the ceiling. The shocking incident (below) was caught on video and the footage has gone viral. The two injured artists were dancers in the 12-member band Mirror, who were participating in a series of concerts titled “MIRROR.WEARE” at the Colosseum, a frequent concert venue that has become known as the city’s Canto-pop mecca. industry. The concert series, which started on July 25, was supposed to have a total of 12 concerts until August 5. It was the Canto-pop singer’s debut at the Coliseum. The accident occurred during a group performance when a giant LED video screen hanging above the stage fell and hit two dancers standing directly below. They hit the ground and appeared to be unconscious, while the rest of the crew were stunned. The two contributors were rushed to the hospital. One reportedly suffered a head injury but was in stable condition. the other suffered a neck injury and is reportedly in serious condition. A horrific accident occurred as a singing and dancing group in Hong Kong hosted its first concert, injuring at least two dancers. Both were said to be conscious when taken to hospital. pic.twitter.com/y3c7MVyUmn — Ezra Cheung (@ezracheungtoto) July 28, 2022 The concert was immediately halted and audience members were asked to leave the venue, but were told they could keep their tickets until further notice. Many who watched the accident live at the concert or watched the video circulating on social media said they were emotionally disturbed by the incident. “I’ve never felt so awful going to a concert. Exiting the Colosseum was like exiting a funeral home. It was dark, nobody was talking,” an audience member who witnessed the incident told Variety. “Some other girls in the audience were crying. Another friend, who is a mother, wondered why such a horrific, unacceptable incident could happen in Hong Kong, at the Coliseum.” The accident has sparked a public outcry, with fans and industry insiders condemning the concert organizers for not allowing enough time for venue inspection and rehearsal and ignoring the artists’ safety. The Hong Kong government has suspended further concerts at the venue until its stage design and mechanical structures are proven to be safe. Concert promoters Music Nation and MakerVille, both subsidiaries of Hong Kong telecommunications giant PCCW, then announced at 2am on Friday local time that the remaining eight shows of the concert series had been cancelled. In a statement they said they regretted the accident and expressed concern for the two injured performers, saying they would provide support to the victims. The companies also pledged to investigate the cause of the incident. Formed in 2018 and consisting of 12 male singers, Mirror emerged from ‘King Maker’, a reality TV show uploaded by PCCW’s ViuTV. The group rose to superstardom in Hong Kong during the COVID pandemic. Some of the group’s members, including Keung To, Anson Lo and Edan Lui, have become some of the city’s fastest-rising stars in music, television and film, and the group have also become advertisers’ favorites due to their huge their fan base. However, criticism of the concert series’ organization has been non-stop since it began. Shortly before the series of performances began, a dancer was injured during rehearsal. On the second night, Mirror member Frankie Chan fell off the stage while performing. Many audience members who attended the first two performances questioned the stage’s security measures. It was then revealed that the artists only had two days to rehearse before the concert series began. Industry heavyweight Aaron Kwok, an actor and Canto-pop star known for his stage dance performances, spoke out and said that two days was not enough to prepare for a concert. Kwok said he needed at least three to four days to rehearse at the venue and before that, he practiced in a different venue with a replica stage. Controversy over safety has been raging all week, with more than 13,000 signing a petition on Change.org asking concert organizers to scrap the dangerous mechanical stage designs and ensure a safe stage for artists to sing and dance. “It is very wrong [that] even before this accident, the public [was pleading] with organizers putting safety at the top of the list and [requesting that they] cancel some stage arrangements so the boys can perform in safe spaces,” said Mirror fan Shirley Chan, who had bought two tickets to a weekend show. Concerned fans questioned whether two of the production companies, Hip Hing Loong Stage Engineering Company Ltd and Art Design & Production Ltd, should be held responsible for the serious accident. But an entertainment industry insider familiar with concert production told Variety that these companies use local industry veterans and the accident was rare. The issue, they suggest, is the lack of critical rehearsal time that may have exposed the technical deficiencies. “The organizers didn’t give enough time for the crew and artists to set up and rehearse,” said the insider, who declined to be named. “Any problems on stage are discovered and resolved during rehearsal. But it seems that not enough time was given for that.”
