Sakurazaka46 overseas performances (concerts, showcases)

1st Sakurazaka46 performance in overseas country will be in France at Japan Expo Paris 2023,
15.7. (saturday), 16:30 - 17:00 (local time), ichigo stage, 1st and 2nd generation only

https://www.japan-expo-paris.com/en/programme/2023-07-15/sakurazaka46-showcase_11038.htm

You can share your preparations, ask for help local fans, ... or just share your experiences and photos after it ends...

 

The line up (17 members):

• Uemura Rina
• Koike Minami
• Kobayashi Yui
• Saito Fuyuka
• Habu Mizuho
• Inoue Rina
• Ozono Rei
• Onuma Akiho
• Kousaka Marino
• Takemoto Yui
• Tamura Hono
• Fujiyoshi Karin
• Masumoto Kira
• Matsuda Rina
• Morita Hikaru
• Moriya Rena
• Yamasaki Ten

https://sakurazaka46.com/s/s46/news/detail/E00247

Some colleagues will be able to join the festival as media, and try an interview
Feel free to DM me if you wish to ask anything, we'll do our best to reach them

Also, we'd like to do some fans interviews, say so if interested

 

There are some uncertainities s whether the festival can happen or not due to riots around and in Paris.

The french gouvernement has decided to cancel all the big events.
https://twitter.com/afpfr/status/1674790788721680390

EDIT:
For now the festival keeps tweeting as normal.

Looking for more informations

 

AFAICS the only concerts in Paris to be cancelled were the two for Mylène Farmer at the Stade de France (capacity 80,000) which I understand happened simply because the local 'prefecture' wanted Police/security forces to be available on keeping order elsewhere? I've noticed that the K-Pop boyband iKON is due to perform tonight in Paris at the rather smaller Zénith Arena and I can't see any mention of that concert being cancelled. I'll also try to keep an eye on things from over here. (Thanks to a long-standing interest in la pop française I've attended a few concerts in Paris over the years at several different venues. )

 

Only 2 weeks for Paris, hopefully things will calm down in the next few days.

 

So far Macron decided to stop big events in the zones interested by riots.
We'll see what happens, but right now it seems things are going to escalate more.

 

Tonight's concert by veteran French singer Michel Polnareff at the 20,000-seat Accor Arena in Paris appears to have gone ahead but I read somewhere that Brigitte Macron is a fan of his. I watched last Monday's live Twitch stream by the organisers of the Japan Expo, at the end they said there'd be another one on Thursday this week so hopefully by then they can clarify what's happening. Hopefully things are now quietening down in Paris even if there's still some tension down south in Marseille where on Thursday a bus carrying Chinese tourists was attacked.

 

Accor Arena is far from Nanterre but at this point it means very little.
There are some department involved in the riots that are near the Japan Expo area, like Aubervilliers and Clichy-sous-Bois, but not so near to create an immediate danger.

Some of my friends from Paris fear things are going to excalate more in the next few days, no matter how many people got arrested.
Meanwhile they have a curfew, and tram and bus stop working at 9:00 p.m in the whole country.

I worked in France many times and I love it a lot, but until it resolves its racism and police problems it's always gonna be a Time-bomb ticking.
If the girls are gonna be there, I hope mngmnt takes all the necessary safety measures.

 

I doubt the expo will be cancelled but the riots portrayed in the media right now isnt exactly giving France a great image. I wouldnt be surprised if sakurazaka decide to cancel their appearance for safety reason. That would suck since I already got my tickets lmao

 

The site is still up with no info about cancellation so I think they are gonna held the event anyway.
Even just to prove they can do it lol

Right now many hotels/restaurants/ecc reservation have being cancelled or postponed so it may be more convenient for people who want go there with last minute organization and maybe less budget. (assuming they are gonna reduce the prices. @Philosophy Senpai have you checked them?)

 

@Dill, now that you mentioned that, yes it might be the case. Although the problem is the return tickets. I always fly no-stop flights (well, whenever I can) and there is no return flight with even a slight reasonable price (at the same day or the next day)...

 

I'm also certain that the event will go ahead but yes of course there's always the possibility that Sakurazaka may cancel. My train tickets are refundable but not my hotel. I've just been looking at the latest news of Blackpink who have a concert scheduled at the Stade de France on 7/15 (the same evening as Sakurazaka's afternoon performance at Japan Expo which would make a nice double-header for me) - Jisoo has cancelled a planned visit to Paris this week for the Haute Couture events, however no reason appears to have been given for that while fellow member Lisa has gone ahead with her trip there.

Meanwhile the organisers have confirmed that their next Twitch livestream is indeed scheduled for Thursday at 20:00 French time so I'll watch with interest:
https://twitter.com/japanexpo/status/1675827475555971074

Anyhow, looking just now at the news sites for French broadcasters BFM and LCI the riots have dropped downwards in the list of headlines so fingers crossed that peace is returning.

 

The situation is indeed calming down, at this point, I dare to say there is no threat on the event itself. the only things to worry about might be a sunden strike from train conductors (happened in the past), or any problems with transportations.
The Villepinte convention center is in the middle of a business zone, there's nothing around except some offices, nothing that can attracts rioters.

If a concert happened at Accor Hotel Arena which is in the middle of Paris, a far away venue has little to worry about.

 

I've just watched tonight's Twitch livestream, the Japan Expo organisers confirmed that the event is going ahead as planned and that none of the performers coming from Japan have cancelled their travel plans.

 

The Sakurazaka Central fansite has produced a summary in English and Japanese of Thursday's Twitch livestream including info directly related to the group's performance at Japan Expo as well as general advice to attendees:

https://sakurazaka101.com/japan-expo-paris-qa/

One other thing I heard mentioned which hasn't been included in this is that photography of performers at the event may or may not be allowed depending on the wishes of each group's individual management.

 

As I feared I won't be able to be in Paris this time around.
I may not be in Italy either, so I'll be deeply grateful for everyone who will share their experience with us

I hope you all have good time and cheer for the girls for us too


I checked the Saku101 link and I can't help but be curious about point 6. How did they know Sakura is one of the Top20 most anticipated performances? Is there a questionnaire somewhere on Japan Expo site I didn't see?

 

I've just gone to the archive of the Twitch stream, they said that the ranking was based on the number of times an event had been displayed by users on the app and on the website. I've made a screenshot of the top 20, I can't get it to display here clearly without breaking image size rules so please click on the thumbnail (Sakura is at no.17):



One thing I'd add is that Sakura's performance wasn't added to the app and website until fairly recently. I was watching the live chat window on Thursday and there seemed to be more questions about the group's performance than any others.

 

Good to know the amount of times we went to check the site about Sakura helped the group to reach Top20
I hope the buzz will keep growing and more curious watchers become fans

 

Yup
As exemple, Hojo Tsukasa (main guest) forbids photos everywhere, even from the press.

 

Saku101 (Sakurazaka Central) has published details of a banner project for Saturday's performance:
https://sakurazaka101.com/japan-expo-paris-project/

There's a link there to download the hand banners to print and take to the venue.