Recently, Jacky Cheung’s three “Jacky Cheung 60+ Tour Concerts” held in Shanghai were canceled due to health reasons. Just when everyone was expressing their regrets, follow-up news came out. The organizer announced that it would compensate the fans for their loss of accommodation and transportation expenses. Regarding this result, netizens expressed that this was the “most sincere compensation.” Previously, it was common for singers to cancel concerts due to various reasons, usually with ticket refunds or postponements. In recent years, only a few singers are willing to compensate fans for indirect expenses such as accommodation and transportation expenses in addition to refunding tickets. Each time, this has triggered heated discussions among netizens. However, some lawyers said that fans have the right to claim compensation for travel expenses (including accommodation and transportation expenses) incurred by attending the concert. This cannot be regarded as an additional “gift” from the singer’s fans.
Jacky Cheung’s Shanghai concert postponed
Fans can receive up to 10,800 yuan in compensation
Recently, Jacky Cheung’s three “Jacky Cheung 60+ Tour Concerts” held in Shanghai were canceled due to physical reasons. As soon as the news came out, netizens were worried about Jacky Cheung’s health and were also waiting for the follow-up solution. “Can the audience of these three shows please give me a reasonable plan?” “I came to Shanghai 3 days in advance, and the result is like this” “Generally, this kind of behavior should be liable for breach of contract.” There are many similar voices on the Internet.
On March 10, the concert organizer @CMCLive Chinese Culture and Entertainment released an announcement on the postponement and compensation methods, stating that the postponed performance will be held at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center at an optional date in 2024. Audiences from areas other than Shanghai who have had their tickets refunded will be compensated for their tickets, air tickets, accommodation and other related losses. Among them, train tickets are reimbursed; domestic air tickets are not more than RMB 2,000/person/one-way; international air tickets are not more than RMB 5,000/person/one-way; local hotel fees in Shanghai are not more than RMB 800.
According to the current announcement, the organizer will compensate fans for one night’s accommodation costs on the day of the concert, while train tickets/air tickets will be extended to a total of three days before and after the concert date. Looking at it this way, a single person may receive up to 10,800 yuan in compensation (maximum round-trip international air ticket + maximum one-night accommodation).
Yuan Yawei canceled three hours before the concert started
After two apologies, full compensation was decided.
On December 24, 2022, the topic of singer #YuanYaweiapology# became a hot search on Weibo. After canceling her Chengdu concert due to illness, she finally announced that she would fully compensate fans for their accommodation and transportation losses.
Well-known singer Yuan Yawei’s “Amazing Unlimited Vacation” 10th anniversary concert was originally scheduled to be held in Chengdu, Sichuan at 19:30 on December 23, 2022. This is Yuan Yawei’s report performance ten years after her debut. Ticket prices are divided into two categories: 480 yuan and 680 yuan. The concert was planned to bring more than 20 songs to the audience. However, three hours before the start of the performance, the concert organizer suddenly announced on Weibo that the concert would be postponed. The reason was that the main performers had sudden health conditions and the concert had been sold out. Tickets are not reserved and can be refunded through purchase channels. The official account of Yuan Yawei Studio later forwarded the announcement.
After the news broke, fans were very dissatisfied that the postponement was announced only three hours before the show started. Some of the ticket buyers were non-Chengdu locals and had already rushed to the scene, incurring transportation and accommodation expenses. In response to this situation, Yuan Yawei Studio issued an announcement the next day: “Once the postponement arrangements for the next Chengdu show are confirmed, all out-of-town fans who made a special trip to Chengdu this time will be able to postpone the Chengdu show with their names, Damai order numbers, and transportation vouchers. Tickets are free. Local fans in Chengdu can get 50% off tickets with their ID card and Damai order number.”
However, this arrangement was not approved by fans. That night, his team updated the compensation plan. Yuan Yawei apologized again on Weibo, saying, “I would like to apologize to everyone again for the unfortunate postponement of the Chengdu concert.” She also said, “I am fully aware that this incident was caused by improper team communication, which led to many people who were full of love and expectations coming to the concert.” Go to the scene or hear the bad news on the way there.” She said that in addition to refunding tickets, fans can choose to fully subsidize the transportation and hotel expenses to Chengdu, or choose to postpone the ticket subsidy.
Joker Xue has a high fever and announces unconditional refund
Commitment to cover the accommodation and transportation expenses for fans from out of town
Singer Xue Zhiqian originally planned to hold the “Extraterrestrial Things” concert in Chengdu for two consecutive days on the weekend of September 9th and 10th, 2023. However, an unexpected situation occurred before the second performance (10th), with a high fever of 39°C. Cancel the show. Since many fans were already present, he went on stage without makeup and in casual clothes and announced that he would not be able to perform. In addition to going on stage to apologize in person, he also announced an unconditional refund for tickets and promised to pay for the accommodation and transportation expenses of out-of-town fans.
Although he was unable to perform, Xue Zhiqian still sat on a chair to chat with the fans, and even listened to the fans singing for an hour. He couldn’t help crying when he was so excited. Three days later, the official Weibo of the event organizer “Chao Shi Music” announced the refund details for Xue Zhiqian’s concert. In addition to refunding tickets, we will also compensate fans outside Chengdu for their air tickets (train tickets) and hotel expenses.
Wang Jiaer cancels concert due to health reasons
Compensate related expenses for viewers outside Beijing
In December 2023, Wang Jiaer launched his personal tour “MAGIC MAN World Tour Concert”, which was originally scheduled to be held in Beijing on December 2 of that year. Unexpectedly, due to health reasons, “based on considerations of performance quality and other factors, in order to present “The best performance effect”, they had no choice but to announce the cancellation of the performance the day before the concert.
Two days later, Huale Feifan, the organizer of the Beijing station performance, issued a compensation announcement to all audiences. The announcement stated that audiences who went to watch Wang Jiaer’s performance from outside Beijing would be compensated for their losses caused by the postponement of the performance. The compensation standard is that train tickets are reimbursed; domestic air tickets are not more than RMB 2,000 (inclusive)/person/one way; international air tickets are not more than RMB 5,000 (inclusive)/person/one way; local hotel fees in Beijing are not more than RMB 800 Yuan (inclusive)/person/room night.
Although the cancellation of the Beijing concert disappointed fans, the organizer’s compensation details undoubtedly brought an end to this unexpected incident.
Is the compensation fee a “favorite fan” or a legal requirement?
Lawyer: Fans have the right to claim compensation
Jacky Cheung canceled his Shanghai concert due to illness and stated that he would compensate fans for their travel expenses (transportation expenses) and hotel accommodation expenses, which triggered heated discussions. Is this behavior “natural” or a “favoring of fans”?
Zhang Weiping, chief lawyer of Guangdong Pingwei Law Firm, believes that according to Article 577 of the Civil Code, if a party fails to perform its contractual obligations or performs its contractual obligations inconsistently with the agreement, it shall be responsible for continuing performance, taking remedial measures or compensating for losses. and other liability for breach of contract. Therefore, if one party breaches the contract, the non-breaching party has the right to claim losses from the breaching party, including direct losses and loss of available profits. When fans purchase tickets for Jacky Cheung’s concert, they are equivalent to entering into a service contract with him. For fans who are far away from the city where the concert is held, the travel expenses incurred to perform the contract can be understood as the necessary expenses incurred by the fans to perform the contract. In a sense, these necessary expenses are also part of the loss, and fans have the right to claim compensation. However, lawyer Zhang Weiping also pointed out that the current law does not explicitly stipulate that travel expenses are losses. Therefore, if fans want to obtain compensation, most of them need to initiate a lawsuit in court, and the court will also support reasonable compensation. However, considering the time and cost required for legal rights protection, many fans will also consider that the idol canceled the performance due to illness and will not be held accountable. Therefore, Jacky Cheung’s initiative to offer compensation is worthy of recognition.
In fact, there has always been a topic about whether singers should compensate for related indirect expenses (accommodation, transportation expenses, etc.) in addition to refunding tickets after canceling a concert. After singer Yuan Yawei canceled her Chengdu concert, some netizens demanded compensation for related transportation and accommodation expenses. They believe that if they had not gone to the concert, there would have been no relevant transportation and accommodation expenses at all, so the party responsible for canceling the event should certainly pay compensation. However, some people think that it is impossible to distinguish between a special trip and a drop-in, and the cost cannot be assessed and calculated.
Is illness of a celebrity considered “force majeure”? Some legal professionals believe that “sickness” does not constitute force majeure under normal circumstances. “According to the legal definition of force majeure, it generally refers to natural phenomena such as earthquakes, typhoons, and floods, as well as social behaviors such as wars. It is an irresistible force that cannot be resisted by human beings. It is objectively accidental and unavoidable, and subjectively unavoidable. Predictable. Under normal circumstances, illness can be discovered through symptoms or physical examination, or preventive measures can be taken to prevent it.
New Chongqing-Upstream News reporter Zhao Yingji and Yang Bo
