Coca-Cola Philippines has released a statement explaining the rescheduling of the Coke Studio Homecoming’s Christmas Concert. The free concert was originally set on December 7, 2018 at the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds in Pasay City, Metro Manila, Philippines.
It was the culminating event for Coke Studio Season 2, which premiered on September 16, 2018. Included in the line-up were The Black Eyed Peas’ Allan “apl.de.ap” Pineda Lindo, 44, “K-pop Star” Season 6 alum Kriesha Chu, 19, “The Voice of the Philippines” Season 1 alum Moira dela Torre, 25, “Pilipinas Got Talent” Season 3 second placer Khalil Ramos, 22, Jose “Quest” Villanueva III, 36, indie folk-folk pop band Ben&Ben’s Paolo Benjamin Guico and Miguel Benjamin Guico and indie rock-pop rock band December Avenue.
The concert started with performances from December Avenue and Ramos. When the venue reached full capacity, the organizers closed entry to the event.
Because of this, some members of the audience became unruly. Quest asked the crowd to respect one another to ensure the safety of everyone.
Here is the complete statement from Coke Studio Philippines:
On December 07, 2018, the Coke Studio Concert organizers, Philippine National Police, the City of Pasay, and SM Mall of Asia decided to reschedule the Coke Studio Christmas Concert to early next year to prioritize the public’s safety.
The safety of everyone is of utmost importance to us. The unsafe behavior of portions of an estimated 15,000 spectators such as pushing, jumping on the barricades and throwing bottles, threatened the safety of the rest of the concert-goers, despite numerous reminders from authorities present.
There were some who sustained minor injuries and were immediately given medical attention. After careful assessment, and repeated requests for the public’s cooperation, Coca-Cola together with all the artists, PNP, the City of Pasay, and SM MOA, deemed it necessary to reschedule the concert to a later date.
We thank the PNP, the local government of Pasay, and SM MOA for their full support in helping ensure everyone’s protection, the artists for their passion and fully supporting the decision to prioritize their fans’ welfare, and lastly, to the concert goers for their understanding and support. We recognize that a lot of them have traveled far to see their favorite artists. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. Rest assured that we will continue to coordinate with the relevant parties to further tighten control measures in our next events.
Again, we thank everyone for their understanding and their continued support.
Coca-Cola Philippines
CONAN Daily 