KUALA LUMPUR: Yuvan 25 - Live in Concert Kuala Lumpur, the first international Indian concert held here after a two-year hiatus since the pandemic began in 2020, attracted some 10,000 people in the first day of the concert held at Axiata Arena, Bukit Jalil here on July 16.

Those who attended the two-day concert were not only the local fans of Yuvan Shankar Raja, a prolific singer, songwriter and music composer from South India, but also his ardent fans from as far as the United States, Australia, Singapore and India

The concert's ability to draw fans from all over the world augurs well for Malaysia, especially in reviving its tourism industry which was adversely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

That's not all, more international music concerts in Kuala Lumpur especially by artistes from India are in the pipeline throughout the year, including by Indian playback singers Sid Sriram and Anirudh Ravichander, composers AR Rahman and Maestro Ilaiyaraaja, and Bollywood superstar Salman Khan.

Chief Executive Officer of Malik Streams Corporation Datuk Abdul Malik Dasthigeer, the organiser of the concert, said music concert events could serve as a gateway in reviving Malaysian tourism industry adversely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abdul Malik said music tourism has now become a massive phenomenon around the world and Malaysia is slowly resuming this tourism product to revive the industry as the country moves to the endemic phase.

"We are overwhelmed by the turnout for the Yuvan concert and planning to organise another big international Indian concert in September," he said adding that some 9,000 tickets were sold in less than two hours for the first day of Yuvan-25 concert.

Meanwhile, Tourism Malaysia senior director (Strategic Planning Division) Syed Yahya Syed Othman was reported as saying that entertainment especially concerts were among the elements needed in reviving the tourism industry.

"Thus, Tourism Malaysia is supporting all concerts, local and foreign, being held here because the artistes will bring along their followers to Malaysia. So far we have had four artistes from India.

"For example, for the upcoming famous South Indian singer and music composer Anirudh Ravichander's concert themed as 'Anirudh's Once Upon A Time' music tour, on Sept 17 itself, we will receive three to four charter flights from India and Singapore. We have received concert applications from Indonesian and Korean artistes too," he told Bernama recently.

-- BERNAMA