Anger after pop star's concert ruins Chinese stadium's pitch

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Sports authorities in China’s northern Shanxi Province are less than pleased after popular Hong Kong singer, songwriter and actor Jacky Cheung held a concert in a stadium there and left a mess.

The concert, part of Cheung’s “A Classic Tour”, played to a full house at the 60,000-seat Hongdenglong Stadium in Taiyuan city on Sunday.

CCTV Photo

It was widely seen as a boost to the province’s sports industry but Chinese social media was later flooded with photos of the pitch, littered with garbage and cut up by the stage set-up, prompting netizens to vent their fury at the concert goers and organizers .

“We expect the morals of Jacky’s fans to improve,” said Weibo user @Zengege-linqin.

CCTV Photo

“The organizers just drove ahead without considering the consequences,” @Tubohua added.

The stadium’s operator and the organizers had reportedly signed a contract to repair the field once the concert had ended but both sides only collected the garbage.

CCTV Photo

An official from the Administration of Sports of Shanxi told China Youth Daily that the stage at Jacky Cheung’s concert was erected on the grass instead of the track and field areas on the side, causing the grass to wilt.

As a result of the damage, the final of the Shanxi Province Cup, which had been slated for July 1 at the stadium, had to be relocated, according to the Football Association of Shanxi Province.

CCTV Photo

On Thursday, the sports authority ordered the organizers and the operator to repair the pitch by July 1, and called on stadium and gymnasium operators around the province to seriously review activities.

Both sides have now started work to return the stadium’s pitch to its original look.

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