One of south-east Asia’s largest K-pop festivals is coming to London for the first time.
HallyuPopFest will take place at the 12,500-capacity OVO Arena Wembley across two days in July.
The first wave of acts includes boybands Astro, SF9, Cravity and Oneus, girl group Everglow, and singer-rapper Hwasa.
There will also be a red carpet event and chances to engage with the acts before the three-hour evening headline concert.
The inaugural festival will feature the HallyuTown “marketplace” as its centrepiece, where the public can experience Korean food and lifestyle and take part in activities.
The artist line-up will feature a total of 14 acts.
The profile of Korean culture – including its music, fashion and beauty – has grown exponentially in the West in recent years.
Boyband BTS became the first K-pop act to score a UK number one album in April 2019 and other acts, including girl group Blackpink, have also broken into the charts.
Global promoter TEG MJR has collaborated with Singapore-headquartered HAH Entertainment to bring HallyuPopFest to London.
HAH Entertainment chief executive Selena Ho said: “HallyuPopFest came about because we wanted to create a festival experience where K-pop fans from all over, from various fandoms, could come together and celebrate their fervent idol support, boundless energy and love for music and dance that are the cornerstones of K-pop.”
Mr Choi, of Korean National Broadcaster MBC, said: “We are delighted to be part of HallyuPopFest.
“MBC will be hosting and organising HallyuTown, bringing over 30 booths from South Korea, promoting and selling everything from beauty to food to electronics.
“It will be incredible to be part of the UK’s first ever K-pop festival.”
Richard Buck, chief executive of TEG MJR, said: “We are so excited to bring HallyuPopFest to London for the first time.
“It will be the UK’s first K-pop festival, as well as HallyuPopFest’s first global landing. It’s an amazing line up, consisting of a diverse variety of Korean music genres, from pop to rap to adult contemporary to indie artists.
“There will be something for everyone.”
HallyuPopFest will take place at the OVO Arena Wembley on July 9-10.