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The "2025 Mama Awards" is in an unprecedented emergency situation. As the local community is in deep shock due to the fire at the Tai Po apartment in Hong Kong, which caused massive casualties, it is unclear whether the award ceremony can be held.
The '2025 MAMA AWARDS' was scheduled to be held at Kaitak Stadium in Hong Kong on the 28th and 29th. However, the situation changed rapidly on the 26th (local time) when a massive fire broke out in a high-rise apartment complex "Wong Fuk Court" in northern Hong Kong, confirming 44 deaths, 45 in critical condition, and 279 missing. For the first time since the 2008 Mong Kok nightclub fire, Hong Kong authorities have raised the alert level to the highest grade of Level 5.
The scene of the disaster is about 20 kilometers away from Kaitak Stadium, and the entire society has entered a mourning phase, with the atmosphere of remembrance spreading locally and various events and election forums canceled one after another.
Therefore, the production team of the 'Mama Awards' is also continuing urgent discussions by putting all possibilities on the table, including the organization of the event, how it is operated, and even whether it will be held. 'Mama Awards' official told Sports Chosun on the 27th that "We are still discussing."
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In particular, whether local presenters will attend or not. It will be difficult for major Hong Kong stars such as Oscar-winning actress Yang Ja-kyung and Zhu Yun-fat of 'Hero True Color' to attend.
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Nevertheless, K-pop artists boarded a flight to Hong Kong. Children, Rise, ENHYPEN, TOMORROW X TOGETHER (TXT), Zero Base One, NCT Wish, Stray Kids, Miyao, and All Day projects have already left for Hong Kong by the afternoon of the 26th. A number of teams are also on the plane on the 27th, and actor presenters are also planning to leave the country on the 28th.
An official from the music industry told Sports Chosun that `I'm on the move as scheduled because of the rehearsal'`.
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Urgent responses are also continuing among actors who are scheduled to attend. In line with the sudden mood of mourning, some presenters are urgently considering changing their styles to somber-toned costumes such as 'all black dress'black shawl, suit' This is because it is difficult to utilize the existing colorful styling.
It seems inevitable to change the direction. Some teams are discussing whether to retain the 'fire production' stage, and the entire script is also expected to be reduced and revised to reflect the mood of mourning.
In particular, the costumes and performances of the so-called 「"The Grim Reaper Concept" which were scheduled to be presented on the official collaboration stage with the Netflix animation 'K-Pop Demon Hunters' are also on the list again. It is interpreted that the performance using the demonic spirit and lion's worldview in the movie could be inappropriately intertwined with the disaster situation.
A day before the global K-pop festival, the production team's final decision has not yet been made. 'Mama Awards' secretariat sent a notice to its agencies on the 27th, saying, `We are seriously aware of the seriousness of the current fire-related situation in Hong Kong's Taipei area, and are quickly discussing appropriate countermeasures for each sector.'
"Official responses to awards ceremonies, procedures for operating events, as well as matters related to artist stages and award scripts will be shared as soon as they are organized after careful review of the situation."
In addition, in order to prevent confusion and communicate accurately, we would like to unify the external media and external inquiries into CJ ENM and Mnet communication teams, so please cooperate. Once again, I would like to express my apologies for causing concern to all artists and affiliates, and the Secretariat will carefully review the situation and take the best direction" he guided.
rightlight@sportschosun.com
