Entertainment Desk

Over the years, Dhaka earned a reputation for attracting music lovers with major concerts featuring foreign artistes, particularly some of the biggest names  and hottest acts from India and Pakistan. In recent times, however, buying a ticket to an international concert has increasingly become a matter of uncertainty.

In recent months, several highly anticipated concerts featuring Pakistani and other foreign artistes have been postponed or cancelled at the last minute, often after tickets went on sale and organisers completed substantial preparations.

On September 25, ‘mAhx Republic’, featuring Pakistani musicians Ali Azmat, Mustafa Zahid and Jal alongside Nagarbaul James, Nemesis, Level Five and Shironamhin, was scheduled at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Exhibition Centre in Purbachal.

The same day, Pakistani singer Murtaza Qizilbash was scheduled to perform with Habib Wahid at ‘Sense It with Murtaza Qizilbash’. The following day, Kaavish was scheduled to perform with Shironamhin and Meghdol. None of the three shows went ahead.

Organisers cited security concerns, directives from relevant authorities and issues surrounding final approval. For ‘mAhx Republic’, an organiser said preparations had been completed and advance payments made to the artistes, but the event was postponed after permission was not received at the final stage.

Kaavish’s case was particularly striking. Its Dhaka concert had already been postponed once over security-related permission issues and rescheduled after almost 10 months. Yet, despite organisers saying all necessary preparations, approvals and formalities had been completed, the September 26 show was again postponed after the authorities directed them not to proceed.

The postponements raise a broader question: At what stage should organisers announce a foreign artiste’s concert and sell tickets?

According to an organiser involved in one of the postponed shows, the approval process involves multiple agencies, including the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, National Board of Revenue, Home Ministry, National Security Intelligence, Special Branch and Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

By the time a concert is announced, an organiser may already have paid an advance, booked a venue and invested in marketing, ticketing and production. If final permission does not arrive, substantial investment can be put at risk.

In late 2025, concerts involving foreign artistes, including Pakistan’s Ali Azmat and Jal and India’s Anuv Jain, were postponed amid security concerns and delays in administrative approval.

Atif Aslam’s much-anticipated December 2025 concert was also cancelled after organisers failed to secure necessary local permissions and security clearances. The Pakistani singer publicly confirmed the cancellation, saying the promoters and concert management had been unable to secure the required permissions, security clearances and logistics.

The concert later took place in July 2026 at a different and congested venue, with audiences telling UNB about their discomfort and sufferings.

Authorities, however, have legitimate reasons to scrutinise events involving large crowds and international performers. Major concerts require arrangements covering venue security, crowd management, traffic, emergency response and protection of foreign artistes and their crews.

After the July 2026 Atif Aslam concert in Dhaka, the Home Ministry directed the Ministry of Cultural Affairs to investigate the organiser after the venue was changed without prior approval. The ministry said the change breached permission conditions and raised security concerns, recommending possible blacklisting of the organiser.

For concertgoers, the immediate concern is whether a postponed show will actually take place and what will happen to their tickets. In the case of Kaavish, organisers said previously purchased tickets would remain valid for the rescheduled event. But repeated postponements can weaken audience confidence.

Concertgoers spend money in advance and may make travel arrangements or incur additional expenses. Frequent cancellations could weaken confidence in future international shows.

The disruptions may also affect foreign artistes, whose flights, accommodation, rehearsals, crew arrangements and promotions are often tied to a specific date.

Bangladeshi musician and Nemesis frontman Zohad Reza Chowdhury recently expressed concern that repeated cancellations could damage trust among foreign artistes and local audiences.

He also suggested that organisers should continue staging concerts with local performers if bringing international artistes becomes difficult.

“Let there be music,” he said, arguing that Bangladesh’s own musicians can keep the concert culture alive even when international bookings face obstacles.

Promoters could turn to local line-ups, festivals and mixed-format events requiring fewer layers of international clearance, but that would not solve the underlying problem.

Bangladesh has a growing audience for international music and an expanding ecosystem of promoters, venues, ticketing platforms and production firms. Organisers need to know the rules and whether an event is viable before selling tickets and committing large sums.

Authorities, meanwhile, need sufficient time to assess security concerns before a concert reaches the final stage.

A more predictable approval mechanism could benefit both sides. Clear timelines, transparent requirements and early communication about security-related objections could reduce the possibility of an event being stopped just hours or days before it is scheduled.

Until then, Dhaka’s concertgoers may continue to face the same frustrating cycle: a major international artiste is announced, tickets go on sale, excitement builds, and then the event is suddenly postponed.