Interest
Atsuko Maeda's AKB48 Graduation Parade Cancelled
posted on by Egan Loo
The AKB48 idol group announced on Thursday that the parade that was to be held just before Monday's "graduation" of departing member Atsuko Maeda has been cancelled.
AKB48'S staff explained that the August 20 parade for Japan's London Olympic medalists attracted 500,000 people to Tokyo's Ginza district — more than the authorities had predicted. The police anticipated a similar crowd forming for Maeda's graduation parade, so AKB48 decided to cancel the parade in light of public safety concerns.
The parade would have been held around AKB48's theater in Tokyo's Akihabara district on 3:30 p.m. on Monday. Later that day, Maeda will perform for the final time in AKB48 before 250 people. However, a record 229,096 people requested tickets — 916.38 times more requests than available seats.
As a result, the performance will be streamed live on Google+ and YouTube.
[Via My Game News Flash]
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history