After November 23, many social network users said they received lightsticks with the logo of a cryptocurrency trading floor and fans with the logo of an illegal betting institution, raising questions about  the organizers of Westlife’s concert, an event within The Wild Dreams Tour in HCM City.

“Is this the ‘duping’ behavior that local newspapers have many times warned about? What did the organizing board do with the international show and our idols?” an anonymous online writer said.

Do Thu Giang from AMO Vietnam, which organized the concert, said some organizations delivered fans, lightsticks and water with the logos to audiences.

At first, the delivery of the sponsored 15,000 lightsticks and fans was done per the guidance of appropriate agencies. After that, some organizations delivered similar things with illegal ad logos outside Thong Nhat Stadium, where the concert took place. Security guards, who were not informed, could not stop the action.

“Our company doesn’t cooperate with the organizations. After the concert, we joined forces with the police to make a record of illegal betting business organizations distributing products to audiences," Giang said.

Asked about the responsibility of the organizing board, AMO’s representative admitted that this was the first time that the company had organized a show for an international band and it made mistakes. 

However, some netizens pointed out that the logo of the cryptocurrency trading floor appeared not only on lightsticks, but also on posters and banners inside and outside Thong Nhat Stadium. AMO has been suspected of receiving sponsorship from the trading floor and then paying with illegal ads.

But Giang denied this. “We allowed fans to install posters and hang banners. When we discovered the logos on the posters, we asked fans to remove the logos,” Giang said.

The organizing board affirmed that there was only one sponsor for the concert and it was a prestigious bank in Vietnam.

On November 30, the HCM City Department of Culture and Sports officially replied to questions about cryptocurrency ads and gambling websites during the concert.

The department’s Tran Thanh Vuong said that all necessary procedures to ask for permission to organize the concert in accordance with Decree 144 were observed, and the concert content was approved. 

He said the concert was under strict supervision from relevant agencies, including district 10 authorities, so problems were fixed promptly.

Tinh Le