KUALA LUMPUR: Japanese entertainment group Zepp Hall Network Inc. has recently announced that a new world-class concert hall, Zepp Kuala Lumpur, will be opening its doors sometime during the second quarter of next year.
The company, which is a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan), added that the new venue would be located at the upcoming Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC) which was the former site of Pudu Prison.
Said to be able to accommodate up to 2,500 attendees in its 6,000 square metre lot, the mid-sized concert space will feature a standing area, a stadium seating arrangement and VIP boxes.
Performing artistes will be able to make use of the state-of-the-art equipped space that houses high quality audio and lighting systems that also enable event organisers to carry out comprehensive rehearsal sessions to help save time and costs.
Zepp president Akira Uehara said that the upcoming venue would "act as a cultural exchange centre between Malaysia and Japan."
"Our international expansion is also another way to help event industries worldwide to offer a one-stop solution for any mid-sized event," he said in a statement.
Zepp Hall Network was established in 1998 and the new location will be its 11th concert venue following nine branches in Japan including another in Taiwan dubbed Zepp New Taipei.
From 2017 to 2019, the company had also operated Zepp@BIGBOX in Singapore.
The idea to develop this innovative infrastructure came about over 20 years ago when there were no medium-sized concert sites that could accommodate 2,000 to 3,000 audience members.
Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc had identified the need for an alternative space besides theatres for concerts featuring rock bands.
With that in mind, the company collaborated with Zepp to develop a one-stop centre for concert events used by artistes.
Zepp Sapporo became the first location before others were established in Osaka, Tokyo, Fukuoka, Nagoya and Yokohama.
These enabled artistes to tour across the country with ease by utilising the uniformly designed stages.
BBCC is an upcoming integrated hub in the city of Kuala Lumpur which when completed will feature a strata office, five-star hotel, luxury service residences, lifestyle mall, grand bazaar as well as food and beverage establishments.