Finally, the MDA has given its reason  why the song Rainbow was not sung at the outdoor concert  by Taiwanese pop diva A-mei on June 7.

In a letter published in Today, it said:

“In licensing arts entertainment events such as pop concerts, the MDA’s objective is to provide classification ratings that will enable the public to make informed decisions on attending such events, in particular, whether the contents are appropriate for the young, while providing a diversity of media choices to adults.

For this concert, the MDA received the organiser’s arts entertainment licence application only a few days before the event.

The MDA advised the organiser that an outdoor concert would typically allow only for content that is “General” in rating. The authority also noted that when the artiste Zhang Hui Mei performed the song “Rainbow” at her indoor concert in Singapore in January last year, she encouraged her fans to openly show affection for their same-sex partners and the camera had focused on the audience doing so.

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Due to this prior incident, the MDA told the organiser that if the artiste performed the song, the rating for the outdoor concert would have to be raised above “General”. The organiser then decided not to include the song in the line-up,” wrote Chetra Sinnathamby, Director, Content and Standards at MDA.