Ben&Ben to Liwanags: ‘We hear you. We feel your pain, frustration, and anger.’
Ben&Ben posts a public apology to those who attended their Homecoming Concert.
“Hindi isang kasalanan ang magpahinga,” Ben&Ben reminded the crowd.
For many of those who attended Ben&Ben’s Homecoming Concert last December 18, 2022, the event was hoped to be a restful break from the busy and stressful year that was.
Crowds of people flocked to the the SMDC Festival Grounds in Parañaque. At one point, the count in the open air venue was said to reach 65,000 people.
However, while the music was exemplary, the evening turned out to be a stressful one for many who attended. Unfortunately, it seemed like the organizers failed to anticipate just how many would attend the concert or how to manage it. There appeared to be some lapses in terms of the overall logistics and organization of the event.
While people were still all praises for Ben&Ben, many couldn’t help but vent out their frustrations about the organizers on social media. One concert goer aired out his sentiments on the band’s Facebook page.
“Thank you, Ben and Ben for giving your all last night. We love your music & the inspiration you give your fans,” said the netizen with the handle Binibining Selya Anahaw. “We are very disappointed though with how disorganized and unprepared the production company & food booths were.”
Another user with the handle Firrini commented, “The show itself was fun but the crowd control team and the queue was a mess. Entry and Exit points drained the hell out of everyone. Please do better next time.”
Theirs were only two among hundreds of similar sentiments about the event. These reached the band, who released a response on their social media page a couple of days after the concert.
“We hear you. We feel your pain, frustration, and anger,” began Ben&Ben’s official statement posted last December 20.
Though many still did enjoy the concert, the band was quick to acknowledge those who had a less than stellar experience and apologized.
“While we are grateful that the #BenandBenHomecoming2022 concert was an unforgettable night of music and emotions shared between the band and Liwanag, we’d like to sincerely apologize to those of you who had a deeply stressful experience with the queuing, the entry into the venue, and the general gaps in the organization of the event,” they said.
The band acknowledged the hardships that many had to go through in order to attend. After all, the concert-goers had to contend with the holiday traffic, the erratic weather, and the immense crowd at the venue.
“We know that you have given so much in order to be able to attend our concert. Thus, we are deeply affected by the experiences of those of you who went through so much last Sunday,” the band said.
Ben&Ben went on to promise higher accountability and better planning moving forward.
“We will be more vigilant with everyone involved in the planning and preparations of our concerts to ensure that what happened won’t happen again, most especially to you, our Liwanag. Because you deserve only the best,” they promised.
“Again, pasensiya na at maraming salamat,” said the band. “While we can’t undo the pains that you’ve been through, we can help make things right moving forward. Thank you.”
The band ended their statement with a message of gratitude to their loyal fans.
“Words cannot explain how grateful we are for you, Liwanag,” they said. “Thank you for coming to the #BenandBenHomecoming2022 concert. Every song we sang was for all of you.”
In the comments section, fans praised the band for taking accountability and assured them of continued support.
