The Korea Entertainment Producers Association announced on Jan. 29 that the Dream Concert 2026, scheduled for February 6-7 at Kai Tak Stadium in Hong Kong, has been canceled until further notice.
The two-day music festival was set to feature major K-pop artists, including EXO-CBX members Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin, along with Taemin, The Boyz, Hwasa, BamBam, and additional performers.
The event would have marked a historic moment as the first official overseas stop of the Dream Concert series and the opening show of an ambitious world tour planned for 2026. The cancellation comes just one week before the scheduled performance dates.
The cancellation stems from ongoing internal conflicts between local organizers and the Korea Entertainment Producers Association (KEPA), which holds the license to the Dream Concert brand, according to allkpop. The disputes center on unresolved legal matters regarding venue reservations and management decisions that have clouded the event's preparation process.
The primary conflict involves a disagreement over the booking of Kai Tak Stadium. KEPA claims it completed a formal venue rental agreement and paid a deposit for the February dates.
However, nCH Entertainment, an agency affiliated with South Korea's public broadcaster MBC, asserted that the dates had already been reserved for an overseas edition of "Show! Music Core." KEPA responded by filing a criminal complaint against nCH Entertainment in November, accusing the company of spreading false information to entertainment agencies and deliberately interfering with casting efforts for the Dream Concert.
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The conflict adds to a pattern of trouble for Dream Concert's overseas expansion efforts. In November, Dream Concert Abu Dhabi faced significant backlash after last-minute lineup changes and reduced benefits for VIP ticket holders, the Korea Herald reported.
The event in Sanya, China, was indefinitely postponed due to regulatory issues, with no update provided more than three months later. A similar event planned for Japan in August was also effectively canceled, though organizers cited record-breaking heat as the reason.
The Hong Kong concert held special symbolic importance for KEPA, as it would have been broadcast nationwide across mainland China through Hunan Television—marking the first major K-pop concert broadcast in China since 2017, when cultural exchanges were restricted.
Industry analysts note that the cancellation raises serious questions about KEPA's management practices and its ability to oversee large-scale international events. No official statement has been released regarding whether the concert will be rescheduled at a later date, as per Reuters.
