INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The ongoing tension in Hong Kong between the government and pro-democracy protesters continues to spill into the tech domain.
Rise, which
is among the largest tech conferences in Asia, will not run next year as planned due to &the ongoing situation in Hong Kong,& according to
Web Summit, the Ireland-based company that organizes the show.
The organizer said it is postponing the sixth edition of its annual
conference, which is held in Hong Kong, to March 2021 from March 2020
Web Summit, which hosts similar large-scale conferences in other parts of the world, made the announcement today in an email to previous
A spokesperson confirmed the veracity of the email to TechCrunch.
&Over recent months, we have been monitoring the ongoing situation in Hong
Our number one concern is the wellbeing, safety, and security of attendees at our events,& it said in a statement.
&Given the uncertainty of
the situation by early 2020 and after consulting with experts and advisories, we have decided to postpone RISE until 2021.&
In recent years,
Rise has emerged as one of the largest tech conferences in Asia
Some of its recent speakers have included top executives of Uber, Byju&s, Grab, Gojek, Razor and Stripe, as well as many key partners from
top VC funds and officials from several governments.
This year, the conference attracted more than 16,000 attendees ranging from the &world
leading founders, Fortune 500 CEOs, investors, media, and the most promising startups from over 100 countries,& according to official
figures provided by Rise.
Web Summit announcement today comes hours after Clockenflap, the biggest music festival in Hong Kong, was
cancelled citing the same reason
American singer-songwriter Halsey, rapper Lil Pump, British band Mumford - Sons and Japanese headbangers Babymetal were set to play at the
Several more events have been postponed or cancelled in recent weeks.
Rita Liao contributed to this report.
