At the press conference on the afternoon of November 30, Dan Tri reporter asked the Department of Culture and Sports (DOC) of Ho Chi Minh City about the controversy over the Westlife music night organizing committee being suspected of advertising for a virtual currency exchange and illegal betting website, causing outrage among many viewers.
Mr. Tran Thanh Vuong, Head of the Department of Culture and Family Lifestyle Development (under the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City), responded to the press about the above incident.
The cryptocurrency exchange logo appeared on cheering sticks and banners at Westlife's concert on November 22 (Photo: Bich Phuong).
Accordingly, the Organizing Committee of the music night The Wild Dreams on November 21 and 22 at Thong Nhat Stadium (Ward 6, District 10) has completed all procedures and requested permission from the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City before the event took place.
The Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City approved the program to organize performances according to the provisions of Decree No. 144/2020/ND-CP.
"The performance program was performed in accordance with the permitted content. However, the program's Organizing Committee did not notify the Department about the form of advertising content in the program," said Mr. Tran Thanh Vuong.
A representative of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City said that after the press reported on suspicions that the Westlife concert advertised a number of banned advertising products such as virtual currency exchanges and betting websites, the Department worked with the authorities of District 10 to verify the incident.
"The police of Ward 6, District 10 said that during the music night, there were a number of cases where the audience brought items such as fans, cheering lights printed with virtual currency logos, betting websites... into the stadium.
The music night was closely monitored by relevant departments, especially with the participation of District 10 and the local ward, so when an incident occurred, it was quickly intervened and handled," informed the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City.
Thousands of spectators were given cheering sticks printed with the logo of the virtual currency exchange (Photo: Fan provided).
Mr. Tran Thanh Vuong said that advertising content about virtual currency exchanges and betting websites is prohibited content, and there are regulations to punish violations.
According to Articles 7 and 8 of the Law on Advertising, advertising of prohibited goods and services is prohibited according to relevant laws. Decree 38/2021/ND-CP also stipulates administrative sanctions for violations in the fields of culture and advertising for the above-mentioned acts.
Specifically, a fine of 10 million to 15 million VND will be imposed for the following acts: Failure to notify about the content, time, location of advertising, number of billboards and banners.
Fine from 70 million VND to 100 million VND for the act of: Advertising goods and services prohibited from trading according to regulations.
Currently, the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City continues to coordinate with the People's Committee of District 10 and the police to verify the nature of the incident.
"If it is the fault of a specific organization or individual for the violation, the Inspectorate of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City will impose administrative sanctions on the above violations," said Mr. Tran Thanh Vuong.
Audiences received hand fans printed with betting website information when watching Westlife's show (Photo: Fan provided).
Previously, at Westlife's The Wild Dreams concert held on November 22 at Thong Nhat Stadium, thousands of spectators attending the program were given cheering sticks printed with the logo of the virtual currency exchange.
A banner with the same logo was also displayed at the stadium gates. In addition, spectators were given fans printed with advertising for an online betting website.
When asked by the press, the Organizing Committee denied any involvement, asserting that it did not cooperate with the virtual currency exchange and did not put the exchange's logo on items related to the program.
However, many viewers questioned: "With such a large number of cheering sticks filling the stands, if the Organizing Committee did not know and did not distribute them to the fans, then who did?"
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