During the encore of the final night of Request Hour Setlist Best 100 2013 it was announced that AKB48 will be holding a concert this June in the Nissan Stadium!
Although the group has performed in many outdoor venues and various domes/arenas, this will be their first true stadium performance. This announcement also makes them the first female group to ever perform in the stadium!
Nissan Stadium is also known as International Stadium Yokohama and it holds 72,327 people! It’s well known for hosting football (soccer) events and was in the running for the Japanese bid for the 2008 Summer Olympics (though it was later beat out by Osaka’s bid and, ultimately, Beijing, China’s.) The large size of the venue is likely to provide unique challenges for a group that is used to performing in a traditional setting but it’s not likely to stop AKB. Aside from the upcoming AKB performance, the only artists to perform in Nissan Stadium since it’s opening in 1998 are B’z, Yazawa Eikichi, SMAP, Southern All Stars, Mr. Children, Yuzu, GLAY, EXILE, X Japan and L’arc en Ciel.
The announcement took many fans by surprise as there was much agreement that there would be either graduation announcements or a surprise appearance by former member Maeda Atsuko. Neither of those events took place, of course, but many are left wonder what sorts of announcements await them in the coming year. Speculators have said that we’re likely to see graduation announcements at the group’s recently announced 4-day Budokan live, AKB48 Fair.
0 comments:
Post a Comment