Award-winning Hong Kong singer-songwriter Wong Hin-yan has become the latest artist in the city to have a scheduled performance abruptly cancelled without a clear explanation.

A poster promoting Hong Kong singer-songwriter Wong Hin-yan’s performance at the M+ Museum on September 4, 2026. Photo: Wong Hin-yan, via Instagram.

The M+ Museum announced on Thursday night that Wong’s performance at the “M+ at Night: Sonic Phantoms” event had been called off – one day before the musician was scheduled to play alongside acclaimed jazz double bassist Nelson Fung.

M+ said in a social media post that the cancellation was due to a “programme change,” without elaborating further. Two DJ sets will be performed in Wong’s stead on Friday, the museum added.

“M+ at Night: Sonic Phantoms” is an event series spanning four dates from September to December. The original line-up, featuring Wong, was announced in July.

Wong said on Instagram on Thursday night that he would be “unable” to perform the following evening. “It is what it is,” he wrote, also without elaborating further.

The musician thanked the museum’s operator, the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, for its “continued support,” and apologised to fans who wished to see him perform.

“I will absolutely continue to sing and write songs,” Wong added. “Hope to see you again soon!”

Wong was involved in the “post-80s” generation of activists who opposed the demolition of the historic Queen’s Pier and clock tower in 2006, according to an Infrasonica profile. He went on to participate in protests against the high-speed rail link to China and performed at a solidarity concert for jailed activists in 2017.

‘Irresistible force’

Under M+’s post on Thursday announcing the change, some fans expressed dissatisfaction with the museum’s last-minute and unexplained cancellation.

The M+ museum at the West Kowloon Cultural District, on September 9, 2025. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

“I only wanted to come because of Wong Hin-yan and Nelson Fung. This ‘programme change’ one day before the show… is either a result of a very strong irresistible force or a scam by your team,” one user wrote in Chinese.

M+ apologised for the abrupt change in a follow-up comment on Friday, offering refunds for ticket-holders who no longer wished to attend the event.

HKFP has reached out to the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority for comment.

Wong was recognised by Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards – the most prestigious prize for Chinese-language films – and the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2022 for the score he composed for the film The Narrow Road.

He joins a growing list of performers who have had events abruptly cancelled by venues or organisers in recent years, often without a clear explanation.

Last year, organisers cancelled a concert by Taiwanese singer Anpu in Hong Kong citing “irresistible force.” Earlier, singer Pong Nan’s concert scheduled for January 2025 was axed due to a venue cancellation roughly a month before the show.

See also: Timeline: Hong Kong civil society’s mysteriously axed venue bookings

Force majeure, or irresistible force, has been cited with increasing frequency in recent years to justify the cancellation of events or venue bookings and has come to be understood as a euphemism for political pressure or censorship.