Mandopop star Wang Leehom suffered a heavy fall at his concert in Chengdu, China, on July 4, resulting in him needing a total of 39 stitches.
The 50-year-old is currently on the Chengdu leg of his The Best Place II concert tour, holding three shows from July 3 to 5 at the Dong’an Lake Sports Park main stadium, which can accommodate up to 40,000 spectators.
In videos of his July 4 concert circulated by fans on social media, Wang fell after he tripped over a safety harness as he stepped off a platform onto a staircase. He had earlier been lowered to the stage through the platform, wearing the harness that he eventually tripped over.
Wang fell heavily on stage, with the left side of his face hitting the ground with a loud thud.
Crew members immediately rushed foward to check on him, but Wang stood up almost immediately and continued performing his song Heaven And Earth Dragon (2021).
Wang, who released his new single Come What May in May, recounted the accident on social media early on July 5.
“Tonight during the opening of the show, my foot got snagged in one of my own safety cables and I went down hard,” the United States-born singer wrote in Chinese and English.
“My head slammed into the edge of the metal stage and, of all places, it was my left ear that took the impact.”
Wang added he was wearing a very hard in-ear monitor in his left ear at that time, and the impact shattered the cartilage in his outer ear.
“There was a lot of blood, so I couldn’t wear my left in-ear monitor for the rest of the show - I did the entire performance using only my right ear,” he said. “As they say, the show must go on.”
He added: “When you’re performing live in front of 40,000 fans, you don’t feel the pain. So no, it didn’t hurt.”
The singer said he went directly to a hospital after the concert. The doctor and medical staff there fixed his ear with 27 stitches, with another 12 stitches to close the wound on his face. The CT scan showed no damage to his brain and skull.
“The blood looked frightening, but there were no more serious injuries,” Wang said. “Thank you for all your love, prayers and well wishes. I’m doing well, and I feel incredibly lucky and blessed that it wasn’t any worse.”
He also shared three photos with the social media post, including a close-up look of the cut on his face while he was in hospital.
Wang’s agency also took to Chinese social media platform Weibo early on July 5 to provide an update of the accident.
“Preliminary investigations indicated that the accident was caused by improper operation of the wire harness, resulting in the artiste accidentally falling during the descent from the equipment,” the agency wrote in Chinese.
“The personnel responsible has been subject to a special internal investigation, and appropriate measures will be taken based on the findings.”
It said the team has conducted a review of the relevant stage segments as well as the entire safety protocol, and would further refine the on-site safety management system.
The agency also provided an update of Wang’s upcoming concert in Chengdu on July 5.
“The team has had thorough discussions with Leehom himself, and he is determined not to let the fans down,” it said. “The performance will proceed as planned once his condition is cleared by the healthcare professionals.” - The Straits Times/ANN
