IC urges concertgoers to use official channels to purchase tickets

The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) has reminded residents to buy tickets only through legal and official channels after questions emerged over a planned outdoor concert that never took place and was promoted with a falsely advertised international headliner.

In a written response to local broadcaster TDM, the IC said ticketing arrangements for events held in the city’s outdoor performance areas are managed by individual organizers.

The bureau urged audiences to report suspected scams to the police, but stressed that it has not received any complaints involving counterfeit tickets linked to the case in question.

The clarification follows an incident involving a company that announced online late last year that it would stage a concert in an outdoor performance area, with an unclear lineup of artists.

Based on public information, including listings on the Macau Government Tourism Office website and the outdoor venue’s own page, the Times has inferred that the case refers to the Dauntless World concert, which had been scheduled for Jan. 10–11, 2026. The event is no longer listed on the venue’s site.

Further doubts were raised when Dauntless promotional materials claimed that global pop star Rihanna would perform at the Dauntless Festival in Macau. Her attorney, Edward Shapiro, wrote via direct messages that Rihanna’s participation claim was false and that her team was working to resolve the issue and had “been trying to pull down the posts” announcing her participation.

The Judiciary Police, cited by TDM, said their investigation found that the performance was never publicly sold and that authorities have not received any reports of financial losses arising from ticket purchases.

The bureau added that it will log all applications for events during the outdoor venue’s trial operation period, as well as any violations of rental rules or guidelines that occur during preparations, “as an important reference for future evaluations of the same applicant and for future work,” the report reads. NS