"Rain's concerts aren't exactly cancelled but postponed," said Kittiwat Manosuthi, chief executive officer of the concerts' organiser RK Media Holding, at a press conference.

"Because of the New Year's Eve bombings in Bangkok, Star M [Rain's world tour organiser] and JYP Entertainment [his music label] agreed to postpone the concerts. Rain himself is also worried about fans' security and parents' concerns over their safety."

Ticket holders can get refunds at points of sale from January 22 to February 4.

Fans can go to the counter service outlets if they obtained tickets from them. Those who bought through majorcineplex.com must go to Major Cineplex Ratchayothin branch during the designated period.

New tickets for the rescheduled concerts will be available after April 12. However, organisers have not confirmed exact dates.

With a massive budget of around Bt70 million for the show, there were rumours that the organisers had postponed the concerts because of slow ticket sales and insufficient sponsors.

"Up until last night [Tuesday night], more than 10,000 tickets had been sold and that's why we distributed tickets for his second concert on February 4 two days ago," said Kittiwat, adding the concert had already reached the breakeven point.

"Rain's coming to Bangkok" is part of the Asian superstar's world tour in 12 major cities around the world, including Korea, the United States (Las Vegas), Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, China, Taiwan and Thailand, over a period of five months.

The production crew of Rain's tour will include several high-profile figures, such as choreographer Jamie King, who produced Madonna's "Confession Tour" and choreographed for Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, and world-renowned concert director Dago Gonzales.

Other prominent figures involved include Tom Hudak, who produced concerts for The Eagles and Prince.

Kitchana Lersakvanitchakul

The Nation