The first-ever Kimchi Festival Canada, set to be held next weekend, has been cancelled.
The two-day event was due to take place at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, from 23 to 24 June.
The Live Nation-promoted festival was set to include performances by Billlie, Jamie Park, Xdinary Heroes, Gukjeondan, VIVIZ, ONEUS, ex-Wonder Girls member Sunye, DJ Flash Finger, Cheetah and 6band.
However, the organisers announced on 14 June that the festival will no longer be moving ahead due to ongoing wildfires in the country.
“The last few days have been difficult,” the organiser said in a statement on Instagram. “We have had many meetings with our production team and the idol agencies about the matter of the festival and the safety of the public and idols.
This year marks an unprecedented wildfire season in Canada
“Canada is currently experiencing numerous natural disasters, reportedly the worst in the last 100 years,” they added. “As the festival was to celebrate the 60th anniversary of unity between Canada and South Korea, and the problems that are currently happening in Canada, it is not the proper time to host the festival.
“We are sad to report that the decision is to cancel the event at this time,” the organisers continued. They added that they have “already informed Ticketmaster to return all tickets that have been sold as soon as possible”.
In a separate comment under the post, the organisers added that they will “will look at rescheduling as well as a different venue” for the 2023 Kimchi Festival Canada. “Again this is not what we were expecting nor what we wished for. This has been a hard loss for all involved.”
This year marks an unprecedented wildfire season in Canada, which has forced tens of thousands of its residents to evacuate.
Last week, the east coast of the US was affected by the smoky conditions from fires sweeping Quebec, many of which were deemed “out of control”.
As a result, concerts, broadway performances, sports games, Pride events and flights were cancelled.
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