Nicholas Tse concertgoers outraged over obstructed-view seats at Kai Tak stadium

Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog has garnered 17 complaints regarding obstructed views at Hong Kong pop star Nicholas Tse’s concerts, which debuted on Thursday night at Kai Tak Stadium, the first local artist to hold solo concerts in the new stadium. 

As of 5pm on Thursday, the Consumer Council received 17 complaints regarding obstructed views at the four shows featuring Tse. It added that the maximum value involved in one case reached HK$6,000 (US$773).  

It also quoted a complainant claiming that when purchasing concert tickets, the system did not indicate that they were obstructed-view seats. The individual only realised this upon receiving the printed tickets and reported the case to the council. 

The complaints adds to the 238 similar ones already lodged as of Wednesday from audience of the recent concerts by the British band Coldplay, which held four shows between 8 April and 12 April, with an attendance of around 200,000 people.

On the other hand, Cityline, the ticket sales operator, said it had received 104 inquiries as of Wednesday regarding the purchase of tickets of obstructed-view seats for three shows, including Nicholas Tse’s shows, the previous four Coldplay concerts and the upcoming shows of Taiwanese band Mayday. 

The company told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE in a statement that it had reviewed all purchase records and found that all complainants had selected seats in categories marked as having obstructed views. It stated that there was no misprinting of the issued tickets, which accurately reflected the categories chosen by fans during the purchasing process. 

“We explained the investigation results to consumers, and two cases requested more detailed purchasing records. After we verify their identities, we will provide the proof that they bought the tickets with obstructed views,” a Cityline spokesman added. 

Cityline added that it would optimise its website and system based on customer feedback to improve the overall purchasing experience. 

In fact, netizens expressed their anger on Cityline's Instagram as the seat details were only specified after they purchased the tickets, with some of them saying that was a fraud and unethical practice of the system, a check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saw. 

According to a check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, the official ticket sales website showed that both normal-view seats and obstructed-view seats had the same price ranges set in four categories - HK$680, HK$980, HK$1,180 and HK$1,380. 

Meanwhile, lawmakers also urged event organisers to adjust the price for obstructed-view seats and state clearly about seat view details on the seating map. Lawmaker Michael Tien said if all seat details were clear at the first place, there should not be any controversy, adding that the most important thing was “to manage expectations”. 

Taking Mayday’s concert in Taoyuan, Taiwan for example, Tien said the seats at the venue with restricted views were clearly marked on the seating map. 

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Cityline, Consumer Council, Emperor Group, and The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau for a statement. 

Join us this coming 17 June for #Content360 Hong Kong, an insightful one-day event centered around responsible AI, creativity VS influencers, Xiaohongshu and more. Let's dive into the art of curating content with creativity, critical thinking and confidence!

Related articles:

Google Maps turns 20 with Nicholas Tse's culinary choices in HK
HK star Nicholas Tse ramps up concert promotion in town