Ben&Ben. Image: Instagram/@benandbenmusic
Ben&Ben apologized to their fans as they addressed the complaints regarding the recently held “Ben&Ben Homecoming Concert 2022,” which some attendees described as the “worst concert” they have been to.
Concertgoers voiced their frustration and complaints about the event’s ineffective venue, security and queuing system, among others, through their Twitter pages last Dec. 18, the day the concert was held. The event, which took place at the SMDC Festival Grounds, reportedly gathered a 65,000-crowd, as per the concert director Paolo Valenciano.
“I love you [Ben&Ben] pero jusko (but God), this was by far the worst concert I’ve been to. Event organizers chose an unappealing venue, security was the worst just letting anyone and everyone in kahit walang tix, yung pila basta basta lang (even those without tickets, and the queue was not organized),” one @us8hakim said.
“Four p.m. ang schedule ng gate opening, [6 p.m.] bumukas [at] ‘yung pila iisa lang. ‘Pag pasok wala man lang label mga gates for tickets,” the netizen added. (The gate, which was supposedly scheduled to open at 4 p.m., opened at 6 p.m. and with only one queue. When we got in, there were no provided labels for tickets in the gates.)
4pm ang schedule ng gate opening, 6 BUMUKAS. Yung pila iisa lang. Pag pasok wala man lang label mga gates for tickets. Walang proper security check kahit mga walang tickets naka pasok???? Sige nga @ovationprod sana lesson learned to.
— ana 🍌 (@us8hakim) December 18, 2022
“No ticket scanning, no bag checks, no marshals to maintain the lines, no segregation of quadrants, no [f*cks] given for the safety of the attendees,” a certain @_AustinReyes lamented. “The Ben&Ben homecoming is probably the worst concert I’ve been to [to be honest].”
No ticket scanning
No bag checks
No marshalls to maintain the lines
No segregation of quadrants
No fcks given for the safety of the attendees 🤷🏽♂️The Ben and Ben homecoming is probably the worst concert I've been to tbh 🤦🏽 pic.twitter.com/2lXUFGNrtF
— Austin® (@_AustinReyes) December 18, 2022
“BEN&BEN DELIVERED SO WELL. UNFORTUNATELY IT WAS THE WORST (and only the worst) CONCERT THAT I HAD ATTENDED TOO. I HATE YOU [Ovation Productions],” one @heyitsmedarling tweeted, referring to the production company which organized the concert. “Super un-organized ng Ovation. Hindi ba na-visualize yung possible outcome and setbacks? [Merong] mga nakapasok ngang walang [tickets and] it was so unfair sa amin who bought tickets.”
(Ovation was very unorganized. Did they not visualize the possible outcomes and setbacks? Some people who didn’t have tickets were able to enter the venue and it’s unfair to us who bought tickets.)
Super un-organized ng Ovation. Hindi ba na-visualize yung possible outcome and setbacks?? Like wtf. May mga nakapasok ngang walang tix. And it was so unfair sa amin who bought tickets no. And I have so many reklamo pa. 😭 #BenAndBenHomecoming2022 #CancelledOvationProduction
— A woman who cannot be named. (@heyitsmedarling) December 18, 2022
The folk pop band then acknowledged the sentiments of fans as they vowed to be “vigilant with everyone involved in the planning and preparations” of their concerts to avoid the same situation to happen again.
This they said through a statement released through their social media pages on Tuesday, Dec. 20.
“We hear you. We feel your pain, frustration, and anger” it read. “While we are grateful that the Ben&Ben Homecoming 2022 concert was an unforgettable night of music and emotions shared between the band and Liwanag (the band’s fans), we’d like to sincerely apologize to those of you who had a deeply stressful experience with the queuing, the entry to the venue, and the general gaps in the organization of the event.”
“While we can’t undo the pains that you’ve been through, we can help make things right moving forward. Thank you,” it added.
#BenAndBenHomecoming2022 pic.twitter.com/5faly1racp
— Ben&Ben (@BenAndBenMusic) December 20, 2022
“Ben&Ben Homecoming Concert 2022” was initially scheduled on Sept. 3, but was postponed hours before it was supposed to begin due to bad weather conditions. The event was then moved to Dec. 18, with a vow from the band to give a “memorable experience” to their fans. EDV
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