Producer Says Zemfira Concert Canceled Due to Poor Planning

Producer of “Astana Concert” Malik Khasenov commented on the cancellation of Russian singer Zemfira’s concert in Almaty, reports Orda.kz.

Khasenov claimed the state had nothing to do with the cancellation, attributing the issue to poor planning and a poor choice of venue. Zemfira’s concert was originally planned at one location, but after a month, the organizers decided to change it due to low ticket sales and an inconvenient location.

Regarding Zemfira’s concert, you saw that at first it was announced for a different venue. Tickets were on sale for a month. Then it became clear sales were low. That venue, if I’m not mistaken, was very far from the city of Almaty. So they moved it to another one, the producer explained at a press conference at the Central Communications Service.

The second venue also raised concerns. The concert was planned for the KazNU stadium, which Khasenov said was not suitable for a show of that level.

Let’s be honest: the KazNU stadium is probably the wrong concert venue. In Almaty there are excellent venues — Almaty Arena, the Baluan Sholak Sports Palace, the Palace of the Republic. Why they didn’t use them is a question to me. After all, in 2023, Zemfira’s concert at Almaty Arena was a success. 

The event organizers were not from Kazakhstan and, according to Khasenov, likely misunderstood the local context.

Maybe they simply didn’t understand the infrastructure and didn’t know our market. But with Zemfira’s concert it’s 100% clear: a completely wrong choice of venue, poor ticket sales, and then the government is blamed for everything. But that’s not true. 

He emphasized that proper event preparation takes time and coordination with the city and sports authorities.

As an example, he recalled the situation with Jennifer Lopez’s concert in Almaty, when the show coincided with a football match.

There was also a complicated situation with the Jennifer Lopez concert at the stadium in Almaty. The ‘Kairat — Zhenis’ match was rescheduled. We held urgent talks with the Kairat football club, the Kazakhstan Football Federation, and Zhenis’s management. We had major three-party negotiations. Thanks again to the leadership of all clubs and the federation. We resolved the issue.

According to Khasenov, similar coordination could have saved Zemfira’s concert — but it simply didn’t happen.

Original Author: Zhadra Zhulmukhametova