Northeast festival organisers cancel Singapore event after Zubeen Garg's tragic death

Event organisers conducting critical business meetings to attract investment to Northeast India announced the cancellation of their scheduled Singapore festival following the death of renowned Assamese singer Zubeen Garg.

Shyamkanu Mahanta and his team, who were managing Garg's appearance at the Northeast India Festival, were engaged in high-level discussions with senior Singaporean industrialists and policymakers at the Shangri-La Hotel when they received the devastating news. The meetings, aimed at facilitating investments in Northeast India, were part of broader initiatives to showcase the region's economic potential to international investors.

"On September 20, exclusive B2B meetings will focus on tourism and trade partnerships, with key discussions aimed at forging alliances between tour operators, buyers, and entrepreneurs from both India and Singapore," according to earlier festival promotions. These business sessions were designed to foster collaboration in various sectors, connecting the Northeast region with Southeast Asian markets.

The organisers learned about the accident during their business discussions. "Earlier today, our entire team was engaged in a business meeting with senior Singaporean industrialists and policymakers at the Shangri-La Hotel to facilitate investments in Northeast India. During the meeting, we received a call from Zubeen's manager informing us that he had met with an accident and had been rushed to Singapore General Hospital," the organisers stated.

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Garg had arrived in Singapore just two days before the tragedy and was scheduled to perform at the festival, where he was expected to meet and interact with attendees. However, the organisers later discovered that the 52-year-old singer had been taken on an unplanned yacht visit by members of the local Assamese community.

"We later learned that a few members of the local Assamese community had taken him on a yacht visit, of which we had no prior knowledge," the organisers explained in their statement. It was during this excursion that the fatal accident occurred, leading to Garg's death around 2:30 pm local time.

The festival team immediately rushed to Singapore General Hospital upon receiving the news and has since been working closely with the Indian High Commission to complete necessary procedures.

Zubeen Garg, who was 52, was a celebrated figure in the Assamese music industry and had contributed to music in over 40 languages and dialects. He gained widespread recognition beyond the Northeast through his popular Hindi song "Ya Ali" from the 2006 film Gangster.

The festival organisers announced the complete cancellation of their event, stating: "This is a monumental loss, and words cannot express the depth of our grief. In light of this tragedy, we are cancelling the event. We are devastated and pray for the departed soul of Zubeen Garg."

The Northeast India Festival was part of ongoing efforts to strengthen cultural and economic ties between India's northeastern states and Singapore, building on various government initiatives to promote the region's investment potential internationally.