Hong Kong – It is a common concert tradition to wave a banner in support of your favorite artist or give them a bouquet in appreciation. However, in light of the zero-waste lifestyle that is currently trending, certain practices have started to change.
Sammi Cheng, the queen of Cantopop, went on Instagram on July 9 (Tuesday) to urge her fans to donate money to the Hong Kong Cancer Fund instead of buying bouquets for her. She even gave bank account details to donate to along with other information in her caption.
“Hope the flower shops understand this suggestion,” noted Cheng at the end.
In another Instagram video, the superstar informed the public that her concerts would not be giving out the usual pong pong sticks (fluorescent sticks) to fans in an endeavour to produce less waste during the events.
She said that if everyone was provided with two pong pong sticks over 13 concerts, about 260,000 pieces of garbage would be produced.
“The company and I chose (sic) to protect the environment first,” said Cheng. “For the environment that we have been destroying, it is worth doing our best and to our greatest extent.”
Of course, a concert experience would not be complete without something to wave or hold up high in the air, so the superstar suggested downloading a free app called inEVENT which will turn a mobile phone into a fluorescent stick.
She previously explained that the downside to this is that the audience won’t be able to take photos or videos at the same time. However, for Cheng, “the audience’s sincere applause is far better than a pong pong stick.”
“I sincerely thank each and every audience (sic) for understanding and supporting this decision,” she said.
“I hope that the audience will be able to devote every moment to the atmosphere and cherish every moment on the stage.”
Cheng has been very active on Instagram, giving everyone updates of her preparations for the upcoming concerts such as workouts at the gym and voice maintenance sessions.
She also seemed very lively and cheerful in the social media updates, giving everyone the impression that she has moved on from the scandal involving her husband, singer Andy Hui, and TVB actress Jacqueline Wong wherein they were found canoodling at the back of a taxi.
Sammi Cheng will be holding 13 concerts at the Hong Kong Coliseum from July 12 (Friday) to July 27. -/TISG
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