2022 - MFC meetup & M&G with Mika @ Royal Festival Hall, London - 10 November - REPORTS / PHOTOS / VIDEOS

[Patricia Birden]

I get that, that he doesn’t want to be touched, say when he’s doing his “ Big Girl” in the crowd, and especially not his behind. My first Mika concert was this year in London Roundhouse and when he went into the crowd to sing “Big Girl”, he actually came and bumped into me head on, my left arm got caught with his right, I couldn’t get out of his way, so then he turned sideways and as he did so  he stepped on my foot……. Ouch….. It was only a couple of seconds but I felt the power of him. So yes if it hadn’t been Mika, I would not have been pleased. Not nice at all.

 

An awful lot of people do respect and love him, its not badly meant when people get  overexcited. 

[krysady]

36 minutes ago, mellody said:

and I fear that London might not have encouraged him to do it again anytime soon.  

My feelings also 

[holdingyourdrink]

3 minutes ago, Patricia Birden said:

An awful lot of people do respect and love him, its not badly meant when people get  overexcited. 

It is not badly meant; but when it is received as something uncomfortable for him, he will not be inclined anymore to be as generous with us like last time in London. 

[Hero]

57 minutes ago, holdingyourdrink said:

It is not badly meant; but when it is received as something uncomfortable for him, he will not be inclined anymore to be as generous with us like last time in London. 

Exactly. People need to be aware of how their actions towards him are perceived. Intent is not the concern. 

 

Contrast the behaviour in London with that at Carcassonne. The crowd there were peaceful, respectful, no pushing and stood at a comfortable distance. It was still sweet and lovely and intimate, but it was also a good experience for him and us. 

 

Edited November 20, 2022 by Hero

[Hero]

1 hour ago, mellody said:

I remember seeing him through the glass doors shortly before he went to meet fans outside in Paris, his first M&G after the pandemic. He took a deep breath. You could see, even from afar, that it wasn't easy for him to go out there.

Thank you! I thought I'd seen that, but with Paris being my first I didn't feel comfortable mentioning it to others. 

 

[Chiara 83]

2 hours ago, mellody said:

 

They do, but that's not the part he likes about it, for sure. There's a video somewhere from Rome of the Revelation Tour, where a girl puts her hand on his arm while he climbs across the barrier for Big Girl, and he visibly shakes off her hand. Not immediately, but she just kept her hand there, and it's clearly not what he wanted. Just treat him like a human being and don't do things to him that you wouldn't want strangers to do to you, that's exactly it, like @krysady and the others said. He's not a cuddly toy, or a toy boy.

 

If he dances in the crowd during Big Girl, you can also see in some videos that he tries to get away from people who touch him or are following him through the crowd. I see that like people dancing in a club, it also doesn't give you the right to touch them, even if they dance close to you. And a M&G is not a club or gig situation.

 

 

 

That, but I think he also does enjoy dancing among his fans and seeing how they look at him with love in their eyes, up close. As long as they treat him like a human being, like I just said. Anyway, I remember seeing him through the glass doors shortly before he went to meet fans outside in Paris, his first M&G after the pandemic. He took a deep breath. You could see, even from afar, that it wasn't easy for him to go out there. So it's not just going in the crowd at a gig, but also M&G's that are a risk and a challenge for him because he never knows how fans will behave. I'm glad that so far the good sides still outweigh the bad ones for him, and that he likes challenges. But that only works as long as the majority of fans treat him respectfully. And I especially would expect that from MFCers, because if we behave like any other random crazy fan group, why would he agree to do a M&G with us? It's rare enough that he does that, once every few years, and I fear that London might not have encouraged him to do it again anytime soon.  

 

Agree 100%

I would like to express my opinion because I find this topic quite relevant.

 

I think the key word is RESPECT. For him and among us. 

As Karin said, Mika is first of all a human being and deserves respect like anyone else. He trusted us and accepted to do a M&G, which was quite a miracle if we think that we came from 2 years of pandemic. Of course we were all very excited but this doesn't mean that people are allowed to push him or push other fans around them in order to be under his nose. I don't even mention the part related to fans touching him because it's unacceptable and I read already many accurate replies about it. 

When at the beginning he said "step back please " I felt bad because he almost couldn't breath and security had to make space around him. We are all grown-up people and he is not a puppy. 

This was my first proper M&G as a Mfc member (not considering the meetings after gigs) and I hope there will be others in the future. I feel grateful for this experience and I hope to see always respect and generousity in our community, which are fundamental values. 

 

 

[holdingyourdrink]

Also, when Mika goes through the crowd during Big Girls, he is only coming close to us, because we are all standing so close to eachother that there is hardly room for him to pass (yes, he passed by me during a concert as well) - especially approaching the barrier. I am convinced that if he could choose to leave the crowd/fans their personal space, he definitely would. 
 

In this regard, I don’t think we can compare him coming too close to us during a concert, to fans coming too close to him during a M&G.

[Hero]

1 minute ago, holdingyourdrink said:

Also, when Mika goes through the crowd during Big Girls, he is only coming close to us, because we are all standing so close to eachother that there is hardly room for him to pass (yes, he passed by me during a concert as well) - especially approaching the barrier. I am convinced that if he could choose to leave the crowd/fans their personal space, he definitely would. 
 

In this regard, I don’t think we can compare him coming too close to us during a concert, to fans coming too close to him during a M&G.

Absolutely, and we see this in venues like Carcassonne and Cap Roig where he made full use of the aisle space to get around and dance with people while still having space. It's only in the standing venues like Roundhouse and Caribana that he doesn't have aisles to work with.  

[krysady]

1 hour ago, Chiara 83 said:

When at the beginning he said "step back please " I felt bad

I also felt bad when he asked where's Deb, she got blocked somewhere in the back behind others, although we got that meeting thanks to her. But I try to remember the good parts and hope for more in the future 

[mellody]

2 hours ago, Patricia Birden said:

its not badly meant when people get  overexcited

 

No it's not, but that doesn't make it right. That's why we're discussing it here, so people know it's NOT ok and that there are more important things than getting as close to Mika as possible, so for the next time those who got overexcited in London can try to keep this in mind. As I said before, it can happen, but the point of a mistake is to learn from it and avoid making it again. And not say "ah but Mika likes that and I can't control myself so it'll happen again".

 

A few years ago we had discussions here where people compared some fans' behaviour to that of men who sexually harass or even rape women just because they're wearing short skirts, and although that might sound harsh, I can in fact see the point behind this comparison if people try to excuse their disrespectful behaviour by saying "Mika likes it". There are "fans" who literally jump at Mika to hug him, and whenever that happens you can see the terror in his eyes. I even remember how terrified he looked when a few fans shot confetti cannons at one of his gigs (I think it was Brussels 2019) - and well, those sounded like shots, he looked so shocked for a moment.  That might have been any of us, because of course we think, it's just confetti, no harm in that - but think about how it might seem to him to hear that noise at his gig, without knowing what it is at first. In an old interview that someone recently reposted he said he also gets death threats, and it wouldn't surprise me if that still happens, even if he doesn't talk about it anymore. There are some crazy stalkers out there, last year I've seen one of them leaving a comment full of hate and threats on Andy's Instagram profile - shortly after that he deleted his profile, and it's probably for that reason that he has comments restricted on his new one. I haven't seen something like that on Mika's profiles, maybe it gets deleted quickly by his team, but there's still a lot of disrespectful comments, even by fans, and seeing all the hate and homophobia on Twitter in political discussions, I'd be surprised if Mika didn't get any of that online - especially when he's so in the spotlight as he was for Eurovision. He did get a lot of hate when he posted the Anti Trump cartoon on IG and when he tweeted his opinion about Lebanese politics - there were seriously people saying things like "keep to your music and stay away from politics" - as if "Chris849287"'s opinion had any more value than Mika's.

 

Anyway, I'm digressing. Long story short, I just want him to feel safe with us, and I can understand that even just a few people running towards him at once can feel quite scary. Just try to see it from his point of view.

[Hero]

2 hours ago, mellody said:

 

No it's not, but that doesn't make it right. That's why we're discussing it here, so people know it's NOT ok and that there are more important things than getting as close to Mika as possible, so for the next time those who got overexcited in London can try to keep this in mind. As I said before, it can happen, but the point of a mistake is to learn from it and avoid making it again. And not say "ah but Mika likes that and I can't control myself so it'll happen again".

 

A few years ago we had discussions here where people compared some fans' behaviour to that of men who sexually harass or even rape women just because they're wearing short skirts, and although that might sound harsh, I can in fact see the point behind this comparison if people try to excuse their disrespectful behaviour by saying "Mika likes it". There are "fans" who literally jump at Mika to hug him, and whenever that happens you can see the terror in his eyes. I even remember how terrified he looked when a few fans shot confetti cannons at one of his gigs (I think it was Brussels 2019) - and well, those sounded like shots, he looked so shocked for a moment.  That might have been any of us, because of course we think, it's just confetti, no harm in that - but think about how it might seem to him to hear that noise at his gig, without knowing what it is at first. In an old interview that someone recently reposted he said he also gets death threats, and it wouldn't surprise me if that still happens, even if he doesn't talk about it anymore. There are some crazy stalkers out there, last year I've seen one of them leaving a comment full of hate and threats on Andy's Instagram profile - shortly after that he deleted his profile, and it's probably for that reason that he has comments restricted on his new one. I haven't seen something like that on Mika's profiles, maybe it gets deleted quickly by his team, but there's still a lot of disrespectful comments, even by fans, and seeing all the hate and homophobia on Twitter in political discussions, I'd be surprised if Mika didn't get any of that online - especially when he's so in the spotlight as he was for Eurovision. He did get a lot of hate when he posted the Anti Trump cartoon on IG and when he tweeted his opinion about Lebanese politics - there were seriously people saying things like "keep to your music and stay away from politics" - as if "Chris849287"'s opinion had any more value than Mika's.

 

Anyway, I'm digressing. Long story short, I just want him to feel safe with us, and I can understand that even just a few people running towards him at once can feel quite scary. Just try to see it from his point of view.

 

 

For me, there's one moment clearly etched on my brain. It's in a video on the translation teams forum. He was having an intimate interview, the interviewer was following him for the day (Jean-Philippe Dion, for Accès Illimité). In one scene they were in his car being driven away from the opening of a new Swatch store. The crowd had been much bigger than expected, and quite raucous. As they were driving away, his attention was taken by finding his ringing phone, when someone outside banged loudly on his window. His reaction was electric, he shot around and the look on his face was just complete shock and fear. It only lasted a moment before they burst into nervous laughter, but it was enough. I never, ever, EVER want to see him look that way again, and ESPECIALLY not when it's caused by a fan. 

 

Edited November 20, 2022 by Hero
Corrected interviewer's name and show title.

[Prisca]

Here comes my Priscasoon report. 🙈

 
The public transport strike certainly didn't make the journey to the Royal Festival Hall any easier, and neither did the journey to the accommodation afterwards. But somehow everything worked out, even though the journey was a lot longer than planned. I went to the accommodation on Thursday and did the check-in and then went to the unofficial meeting of the MFC directly afterwards and arrived there a bit after 4pm. It was very nice to see many MFCers again.

  

The staff from the Royal Festival Hall told Deb that we could go listen to the eliminated pianists in the piano bar at 5.00 pm. But then it turned out that it's not that easy, because we didn’t have an invitation. So once again the staff gave us contradictory information.

   
A little later than planned, the recording started, which I'm obviously not allowed to say anything about. Many say they are happy that this time it is in English and they will understand it. I have to say, I would most likely have understood it better if it had been in Italian or French. What Mika said I think I understood everything, Lang Lang too, Claudia Winkleman: no comment! @Hero laughed next to me and I thought I would laugh too, but I have no idea what she just said. 🙈I agree with the people who say the concerts were very beautiful. So those who weren't there can look forward to watching the final. And I'm also very happy to watch the previous episodes to see how the finalists were chosen and also to see who played who then didn't make it to the final. What I can say that has nothing to do with the recording itself is that I can sympathise with Mika when he crushed his finger. During the recording we stood up in between and then sat down again. I then stretched my legs way too far forward when I sat down again and when the MFCer in front of me sat down, my foot was squashed between the seat and the floor and I couldn't get it out. At first it didn't hurt that much, but by the time I managed to pull my foot out it hurt quite a bit because I had to explain to the person in front of me to please stand up so I could pull my foot out. To my amazement, my big toe survived pretty much unscathed and it hasn’t bruises. And another tip: If you're not used to riding double-decker buses, don't go upstairs, especially if it's the middle of the night and you're not that awake. I ended up going down faster than I had planned because I didn't have the balance (no, I wasn't drunk) and I was catapulted down. I didn't fall over, but bumped my left knee on the left railing and my right knee on the right railing. Expected both my knees to have bruises later, which happened! 🙈

 
Ok, back to The Piano. We were informed by Deb that we could see Mika later. I knew which door to go to, but not exactly where the meeting would be. So, after the recording I immediately climbed over the back of the chair (by the way, that's also how I got to my chair before the recording because I was sitting in the last row in the front stalls ) and walked down the downstairs as fast as I could because I knew that the later, I would go down there, the more people there would be and I wouldn't be able to get ahead. So, I got downstairs pretty quickly without any pushing. There I looked for Deb and found her pretty quickly (she would surely know where the meeting would be and I didn't feel like looking for the place). I only found out after Andrea's post here that an old lady had her foot walked over. That really isn’t acceptable, no matter how great the desire to get somewhere is.

 
The staff had told Deb that we should wait in the hall until the "normal" audience had walked out. Then as we waited there, they pretty quickly told us to go out of the hall. Ok, once again contradictory information.

 
Many wanted to be at the front row and waited by the doors. The fact that the staff had to take tables at the back through these doors didn't exactly help to reduce the pushing. I didn't experience the pushing because I think I was in the third row when Mika came out. However, I have to say that I understand very well that people want to be in the front row because when Mika signs autographs, probably only the first row will get some and maybe a few from the second row. Also, giving gifts is much easier when you are in the front, the further back you are, the more difficult it is. And the people don't want to take the presents for Mika home, I understand that very well. Talking to him is also more difficult when you're further back. If you're loud enough and have a good idea like Phoebe, it works, but it's always harder further back. I agree with @mellody that Mika sees you even when you're not in front. However, I really don't think you go to a M&G for Mika to SEE you. He's also seen you at the concert when you're not in the 100 row or something like that. So, in my opinion, you want to ask him for an autograph, talk to him, give him a present or something like that and that works better in the front row. Of course, he's seen Rose, but she's been his fan for 15 years and he always talks to her. However, with most fans it's not the case that you get so much attention if you're not in the front. It's not a coincidence that there are fans who get his autograph (almost) every time and others who (almost) never get his autograph. They get an autograph because they are in the front row.

  

If we now come back to the pushing. When the fans want to be in the front row, there is often pushing, that's unfortunately the case. A few fans were maybe a bit too pushy, but they went back immediately when Mika asked them to and that’s in my opinion the most important. And when someone starts pushing, there is a chain reaction. From that point of view, I thought the behaviour of the fans towards Mika was still within reason (I won't comment on what happened among the fans, because I didn't see it). It's bad when a fan jumps on Mika or something similar and he then runs away. Luckily, I've never experienced that, but I've heard about it. But of course, I didn't see everything at The Piano because I was further back and not directly affected. And apparently some fans really didn't behave fairly towards others. And another thing: Mika was sooooooo relaxed despite the pushing. I don't think I've ever seen him so relaxed after a concert before. And he even agreed to take photos after the M&G. Karin says that fans used to say that Mika steals the brains from the fans when he looks at them in a certain way. Honestly, I think he's already stealing them before he comes out. Fans change their personalities when it comes to Mika. However, I'm afraid that the people who say it was too much for him might be right and we'll have to wait a while for the next M&G.🙈

  

Mika didn't sign any autographs at the M&G and didn't take any photos (except the photo with Phoebe's mobile phone), only later a few people were able to get autographs and take selfies. I was only able to get one autograph all year and that was only because a gentleman after the Roundhouse concert who was in the front row was very nice and asked me and @Michelle Blondet, when he had his autograph, if we wanted to go to the front row. We gratefully accepted and Michelle told me to go to the front. I gladly accepted because she is quite a bit taller than me. We then both got an autograph when Mika walked through in front of the barriers a second time. A few days later in Nîmes, I didn't try to get an autograph because there were so many people who wanted an autograph and didn't get one some days ago in London. Then in the group I was with later, everyone had an autograph except me (so everyone didn't have the same thought as me, but that's another story). However, I was also in the second row, so it's not at all certain that I would have received an autograph. In all the other places I never managed to get an autograph, but I was never in the front row either. I'm not complaining as Mika hasn't to give autographs at all if he doesn't want to, but just an example that if you want an autograph, you almost have to be in the front row.

 
And something else: I've known Mika longer than some people think. It's only this year that I went to so many concerts, before that, I just didn't do it for various reasons, be it money and/or job and other reasons. And when I say that I understand that many can't take as much time off as I did this year, I think I really understand. I have been working for 20 years and have worked in many different places and if someone had told me that the first 5 years I worked would be the longest I have worked in one place after so many years, I probably wouldn't have believed it.

   

Especially at the first place of work, it was very difficult to get time off: I had a wisdom tooth cut out during my lunch break and at my grandmother's 80th birthday lunch I also went during my lunch break. Saturdays in particular were always hell to get off (I worked in sales, luckily most shops are closed on Sundays in Switzerland, otherwise I would have had to almost get down on my knees to get off even then): At the festival at my place, no one could take the day off anyway (then I just pull an all-nighter and go straight to work), at the young team's trip I couldn't go because I didn't get the day off (sure, another Saturday) and at the Christmas market, which only happens about every 7 years in my village, I couldn't go either (sure, another Saturday). And when a friend asked me if I wanted to go to the Europa-Park amusement park with her, I just told her that I couldn't ask for a day off because of something like that (I think it was also a Saturday). When I was studying, I first worked in the summer holidays and later part-time alongside my studies. In the first summer I also asked if I could have a Saturday off (was the only day off I asked for in the 8 weeks I worked there) to go to the festival at my place (I was then working in the canton of Zurich). The boss's answer: "We actually hire students during the summer so that our employees can also take time off once in a while and not so that the students also take time off." 🙈Oh yes, how could I forget that, students only party all the time and just hang around and do nothing (was definitely not the case with me). The boss was otherwise very nice, but this view is disappointing. I went to the festival anyway: 1 hour 40 minutes away, 1 hour 30 minutes back after the festival, took a shower and went to work. No one noticed that I had pulled an all-nighter. So, I know how lucky I was that everything worked out for me this year and that I managed to go to so many concerts with my 60% job as employee (although not without problems at my workplace).

 

Back to The Piano. I really wanted to go there because I missed being on recordings otherwise (be it The Voice, X Factor or Stasera Casa Mika). I regret not going to The Voice in the audience when I was in Paris from September 2017 to March 2018, regardless if I didn't know if I would find a job after the internship (or enough clients as a freelancer). After all, it's not that cheap to get to accommodation in the middle of the night. Then last year I tried to be in the audience at The Voice (unfortunately didn't get tickets for either the semi-final or the final). I should have put in emissions.tv that I'm a man and 60 years old, then I probably would have got tickets. I'm probably the gender and age group where one of the most represented in the audience and they probably want to try to have a somewhat heterogeneous audience. The fact that you can just go there and often get the chance to still get in, I didn't know that at the time. So, now I could finally be at a recording, which actually suits my type better than a concert where I know I can't behave the way it would be good for a concert. It's no coincidence that I only did the concert in Zurich on the Revelation Tour (I was also thinking about going to the concert in Geneva). I didn't know if I would feel comfortable there. But the concert was very nice. And I'm really grateful for the concerts I've been able to go to this year, really, and I know it's not a given.

   

However, I still couldn't get my biggest wish (and believe it or not), which is that I've wanted to talk to Mika for 6 years now and with all the concerts I've never managed it. I really wish I was one of those people who could do it after one or two concerts. I guess I'm like most people: I want what I can't have. 🙈When I stand in front of Mika, I really feel like I've gone back 20 years in my development and I can't open my mouth. I really wanted to make it this year and I knew The Piano was probably the last chance to do it. I didn't make it. I wanted to say something at the Piano (as I often do) but then still didn't. It was pretty trivial what I wanted to say though, so Mika didn't miss anything if I didn't say it. However, I had eye contact with Mika and could see him well at the M&G because the people in front of me weren't tall and let's put it that way, I can finish the year in peace. And not feel like a failure (as I often do because I can't open my mouth). After all, it shouldn't be so difficult to talk to Mika, the others can do it too. 🙈And in the end, maybe it's not that important. However, I did ask Max for a photo before the concert, because I happened to see him in the café when I was going to the toilet with another MFCer. So basically, I can talk to someone or ask for something, only with Mika I’m not capable!
 
Sorry about the long post.

And this: Who would have thought that Deb would have been able to hand over the yearbook in person to Mika after the Magic Piano Tour was postponed? In that sense: Happy end! And wow, already four pages of photos/videos/reviews at a recording where you're not allowed to say anything.
 

Love you all!

[Patricia Birden]

1 hour ago, Prisca said:

Here comes my Priscasoon report. 🙈

 

 
The public transport strike certainly didn't make the journey to the Royal Festival Hall any easier, and neither did the journey to the accommodation afterwards. But somehow everything worked out, even though the journey was a lot longer than planned. I went to the accommodation on Thursday and did the check-in and then went to the unofficial meeting of the MFC directly afterwards and arrived there a bit after 4pm. It was very nice to see many MFCers again.

 

 

  

The staff from the Royal Festival Hall told Deb that we could go listen to the eliminated pianists in the piano bar at 5.00 pm. But then it turned out that it's not that easy, because we didn’t have an invitation. So once again the staff gave us contradictory information.

 

   
A little later than planned, the recording started, which I'm obviously not allowed to say anything about. Many say they are happy that this time it is in English and they will understand it. I have to say, I would most likely have understood it better if it had been in Italian or French. What Mika said I think I understood everything, Lang Lang too, Claudia Winkleman: no comment! @Hero laughed next to me and I thought I would laugh too, but I have no idea what she just said. 🙈I agree with the people who say the concerts were very beautiful. So those who weren't there can look forward to watching the final. And I'm also very happy to watch the previous episodes to see how the finalists were chosen and also to see who played who then didn't make it to the final. What I can say that has nothing to do with the recording itself is that I can sympathise with Mika when he crushed his finger. During the recording we stood up in between and then sat down again. I then stretched my legs way too far forward when I sat down again and when the MFCer in front of me sat down, my foot was squashed between the seat and the floor and I couldn't get it out. At first it didn't hurt that much, but by the time I managed to pull my foot out it hurt quite a bit because I had to explain to the person in front of me to please stand up so I could pull my foot out. To my amazement, my big toe survived pretty much unscathed and it hasn’t bruises. And another tip: If you're not used to riding double-decker buses, don't go upstairs, especially if it's the middle of the night and you're not that awake. I ended up going down faster than I had planned because I didn't have the balance (no, I wasn't drunk) and I was catapulted down. I didn't fall over, but bumped my left knee on the left railing and my right knee on the right railing. Expected both my knees to have bruises later, which happened! 🙈

 

 
Ok, back to The Piano. We were informed by Deb that we could see Mika later. I knew which door to go to, but not exactly where the meeting would be. So, after the recording I immediately climbed over the back of the chair (by the way, that's also how I got to my chair before the recording because I was sitting in the last row in the front stalls ) and walked down the downstairs as fast as I could because I knew that the later, I would go down there, the more people there would be and I wouldn't be able to get ahead. So, I got downstairs pretty quickly without any pushing. There I looked for Deb and found her pretty quickly (she would surely know where the meeting would be and I didn't feel like looking for the place). I only found out after Andrea's post here that an old lady had her foot walked over. That really isn’t acceptable, no matter how great the desire to get somewhere is.

 

 
The staff had told Deb that we should wait in the hall until the "normal" audience had walked out. Then as we waited there, they pretty quickly told us to go out of the hall. Ok, once again contradictory information.

 

 
Many wanted to be at the front row and waited by the doors. The fact that the staff had to take tables at the back through these doors didn't exactly help to reduce the pushing. I didn't experience the pushing because I think I was in the third row when Mika came out. However, I have to say that I understand very well that people want to be in the front row because when Mika signs autographs, probably only the first row will get some and maybe a few from the second row. Also, giving gifts is much easier when you are in the front, the further back you are, the more difficult it is. And the people don't want to take the presents for Mika home, I understand that very well. Talking to him is also more difficult when you're further back. If you're loud enough and have a good idea like Phoebe, it works, but it's always harder further back. I agree with @mellody that Mika sees you even when you're not in front. However, I really don't think you go to a M&G for Mika to SEE you. He's also seen you at the concert when you're not in the 100 row or something like that. So, in my opinion, you want to ask him for an autograph, talk to him, give him a present or something like that and that works better in the front row. Of course, he's seen Rose, but she's been his fan for 15 years and he always talks to her. However, with most fans it's not the case that you get so much attention if you're not in the front. It's not a coincidence that there are fans who get his autograph (almost) every time and others who (almost) never get his autograph. They get an autograph because they are in the front row.

 

 

  

If we now come back to the pushing. When the fans want to be in the front row, there is often pushing, that's unfortunately the case. A few fans were maybe a bit too pushy, but they went back immediately when Mika asked them to and that’s in my opinion the most important. And when someone starts pushing, there is a chain reaction. From that point of view, I thought the behaviour of the fans towards Mika was still within reason (I won't comment on what happened among the fans, because I didn't see it). It's bad when a fan jumps on Mika or something similar and he then runs away. Luckily, I've never experienced that, but I've heard about it. But of course, I didn't see everything at The Piano because I was further back and not directly affected. And apparently some fans really didn't behave fairly towards others. And another thing: Mika was sooooooo relaxed despite the pushing. I don't think I've ever seen him so relaxed after a concert before. And he even agreed to take photos after the M&G. Karin says that fans used to say that Mika steals the brains from the fans when he looks at them in a certain way. Honestly, I think he's already stealing them before he comes out. Fans change their personalities when it comes to Mika. However, I'm afraid that the people who say it was too much for him might be right and we'll have to wait a while for the next M&G.🙈

 

  

Mika didn't sign any autographs at the M&G and didn't take any photos (except the photo with Phoebe's mobile phone), only later a few people were able to get autographs and take selfies. I was only able to get one autograph all year and that was only because a gentleman after the Roundhouse concert who was in the front row was very nice and asked me and @Michelle Blondet, when he had his autograph, if we wanted to go to the front row. We gratefully accepted and Michelle told me to go to the front. I gladly accepted because she is quite a bit taller than me. We then both got an autograph when Mika walked through in front of the barriers a second time. A few days later in Nîmes, I didn't try to get an autograph because there were so many people who wanted an autograph and didn't get one some days ago in London. Then in the group I was with later, everyone had an autograph except me (so everyone didn't have the same thought as me, but that's another story). However, I was also in the second row, so it's not at all certain that I would have received an autograph. In all the other places I never managed to get an autograph, but I was never in the front row either. I'm not complaining as Mika hasn't to give autographs at all if he doesn't want to, but just an example that if you want an autograph, you almost have to be in the front row.

 

 
And something else: I've known Mika longer than some people think. It's only this year that I went to so many concerts, before that, I just didn't do it for various reasons, be it money and/or job and other reasons. And when I say that I understand that many can't take as much time off as I did this year, I think I really understand. I have been working for 20 years and have worked in many different places and if someone had told me that the first 5 years I worked would be the longest I have worked in one place after so many years, I probably wouldn't have believed it.

 

   

Especially at the first place of work, it was very difficult to get time off: I had a wisdom tooth cut out during my lunch break and at my grandmother's 80th birthday lunch I also went during my lunch break. Saturdays in particular were always hell to get off (I worked in sales, luckily most shops are closed on Sundays in Switzerland, otherwise I would have had to almost get down on my knees to get off even then): At the festival at my place, no one could take the day off anyway (then I just pull an all-nighter and go straight to work), at the young team's trip I couldn't go because I didn't get the day off (sure, another Saturday) and at the Christmas market, which only happens about every 7 years in my village, I couldn't go either (sure, another Saturday). And when a friend asked me if I wanted to go to the Europa-Park amusement park with her, I just told her that I couldn't ask for a day off because of something like that (I think it was also a Saturday). When I was studying, I first worked in the summer holidays and later part-time alongside my studies. In the first summer I also asked if I could have a Saturday off (was the only day off I asked for in the 8 weeks I worked there) to go to the festival at my place (I was then working in the canton of Zurich). The boss's answer: "We actually hire students during the summer so that our employees can also take time off once in a while and not so that the students also take time off." 🙈Oh yes, how could I forget that, students only party all the time and just hang around and do nothing (was definitely not the case with me). The boss was otherwise very nice, but this view is disappointing. I went to the festival anyway: 1 hour 40 minutes away, 1 hour 30 minutes back after the festival, took a shower and went to work. No one noticed that I had pulled an all-nighter. So, I know how lucky I was that everything worked out for me this year and that I managed to go to so many concerts with my 60% job as employee (although not without problems at my workplace).

 

 

Back to The Piano. I really wanted to go there because I missed being on recordings otherwise (be it The Voice, X Factor or Stasera Casa Mika). I regret not going to The Voice in the audience when I was in Paris from September 2017 to March 2018, regardless if I didn't know if I would find a job after the internship (or enough clients as a freelancer). After all, it's not that cheap to get to accommodation in the middle of the night. Then last year I tried to be in the audience at The Voice (unfortunately didn't get tickets for either the semi-final or the final). I should have put in emissions.tv that I'm a man and 60 years old, then I probably would have got tickets. I'm probably the gender and age group where one of the most represented in the audience and they probably want to try to have a somewhat heterogeneous audience. The fact that you can just go there and often get the chance to still get in, I didn't know that at the time. So, now I could finally be at a recording, which actually suits my type better than a concert where I know I can't behave the way it would be good for a concert. It's no coincidence that I only did the concert in Zurich on the Revelation Tour (I was also thinking about going to the concert in Geneva). I didn't know if I would feel comfortable there. But the concert was very nice. And I'm really grateful for the concerts I've been able to go to this year, really, and I know it's not a given.

 

   

However, I still couldn't get my biggest wish (and believe it or not), which is that I've wanted to talk to Mika for 6 years now and with all the concerts I've never managed it. I really wish I was one of those people who could do it after one or two concerts. I guess I'm like most people: I want what I can't have. 🙈When I stand in front of Mika, I really feel like I've gone back 20 years in my development and I can't open my mouth. I really wanted to make it this year and I knew The Piano was probably the last chance to do it. I didn't make it. I wanted to say something at the Piano (as I often do) but then still didn't. It was pretty trivial what I wanted to say though, so Mika didn't miss anything if I didn't say it. However, I had eye contact with Mika and could see him well at the M&G because the people in front of me weren't tall and let's put it that way, I can finish the year in peace. And not feel like a failure (as I often do because I can't open my mouth). After all, it shouldn't be so difficult to talk to Mika, the others can do it too. 🙈And in the end, maybe it's not that important. However, I did ask Max for a photo before the concert, because I happened to see him in the café when I was going to the toilet with another MFCer. So basically, I can talk to someone or ask for something, only with Mika I’m not capable!
 
Sorry about the long post.

 

And this: Who would have thought that Deb would have been able to hand over the yearbook in person to Mika after the Magic Piano Tour was postponed? In that sense: Happy end! And wow, already four pages of photos/videos/reviews at a recording where you're not allowed to say anything.
 

Love you all!
 

Oh Prisca my heart goes out to you. 

[Patricia Birden]

10 hours ago, Prisca said:

Mika was sooooooo relaxed despite the pushing. I don't think I've ever seen him so relaxed after a concert before. And he even agreed to take photos after the M&G. Karin says that fans used to say that Mika steals the brains from the fans when he looks at them in a certain way. Honestly, I think he's already stealing them before he comes out. Fans change their personalities when it comes to Mika. However, I'm afraid that the people who say it was too much for him might be right and we'll have to wait a while for the next M&G.🙈

That’s funny Prisca, Brain stealing. I think he doesn’t only steal brains but hearts too🤣. Personally I don’t think that the M&G was too much for him because if it had been, you would not have seen Mika downstairs in the bar. He would have left through some back stage door and be gone. I also thought that Mika was very relaxed and also very happy.

[Patricia Birden]

10 hours ago, Prisca said:

However, I still couldn't get my biggest wish (and believe it or not), which is that I've wanted to talk to Mika for 6 years now and with all the concerts I've never managed it. I really wish I was one of those people who could do it after one or two concerts. I guess I'm like most people: I want what I can't have. 🙈When I stand in front of Mika, I really feel like I've gone back 20 years in my development and I can't open my mouth

It will happen Prisca. Believe it for next time. And next time take Mika back with you 20 years and you can both be kids together.

[Prisca]

4 minutes ago, Patricia Birden said:

Personally I don’t think that the M&G was too much for him because if it had been, you would not have seen Mika downstairs in the bar. He would have left through some back stage door and be gone.

I am not sure. But the most important thing is that when he said that the fans should keep a little distance, EVERYONE did it. He was surprisingly relaxed that day. However, he could also look back and think, what will happen next time? Don't they accept it when I tell them to back off a bit? Fortunately, he knows many people of the MFC and knows that they normally accept the limits.

[krysady]

10 hours ago, Prisca said:

The staff from the Royal Festival Hall told Deb that we could go listen to the eliminated pianists in the piano bar at 5.00 pm. But then it turned out that it's not that easy, because we didn’t have an invitation. So once again the staff gave us contradictory information.

 

That's weird, me and my husband went there and listened to them playing piano without problems. They were there with their piano teachers and family members, but a lot of people from the venue could attend it. And a cameraman was recording their performances.  Only if you were trying to get there from the sixth floor, you couldn't because it was the access for the staff, but otherwise you could go there very easy 

 

 

About the autographs, I wanna say that I bring my Sinfonia Pop DVD with me at every concert since 6 years ago, and still didn't get it signed. Sometimes he doesn't want to sign anything, sometimes I am far from him, sometimes I could ask him for it but I feel it's not the right moment and don't want to bother him with that. But I much prefer to listen to him talking to us, than signing things like a robot and run away 

 

I'm sorry for all your troubles during this trip, I hope you feel better now. And I hope you'll be able to talk to him some day, if this is your dream 

[Prisca]

4 minutes ago, krysady said:

That's weird, me and my husband went there and listened to them playing piano without problems. They were there with their piano teachers and family members, but a lot of people from the venue could attend it. And a cameraman was recording their performances.  Only if you were trying to get there from the sixth floor, you couldn't because it was the access for the staff, but otherwise you could go there very easy 

 

Maybe we were just too late? They said to me and others that there are only a few places left and it doesn't make sense to go there now. And you should have reserved seats. Maybe they let people go there if there are still enough places?

 

8 minutes ago, krysady said:

About the autographs, I wanna say that I bring my Sinfonia Pop DVD with me at every concert since 6 years ago, and still didn't get it signed. Sometimes he doesn't want to sign anything, sometimes I am far from him, sometimes I could ask him for it but I feel it's not the right moment and don't want to bother him with that. But I much prefer to listen to him talking to us, than signing things like a robot and run away 

I hope you get it signed somewhen. 🤞

 

9 minutes ago, krysady said:

I'm sorry for all your troubles during this trip, I hope you feel better now. And I hope you'll be able to talk to him some day, if this is your dream 

Thanks!

[krysady]

2 minutes ago, Prisca said:

Maybe we were just too late? They said to me and others that there are only a few places left and it doesn't make sense to go there now. And you should have reserved seats. Maybe they let people go there if there are still enough places?

People were standing and there was a lot of room there, not sure why they told you that  And people were keep coming from the hall, some were leaving... I know I left at some point because there was that young boy who wanted to play and the other contestants wouldn't let him, each of them wanted to play more and more, then I came back 

 

But I know there were some messy situations that evening, for example when they scanned my ticket, they asked me if I am Nina.  And because Nina was already in, after a few moments they said it's alright, I can enter anyway 

[Prisca]

2 minutes ago, krysady said:

People were standing and there was a lot of room there, not sure why they told you that  And people were keep coming from the hall, some were leaving... I know I left at some point because there was that young boy who wanted to play and the other contestants wouldn't let him, each of them wanted to play more and more, then I came back 

I don't know either. We wanted to go up from the floor where we had the meeting with the MFC.

[mellody]

2 hours ago, krysady said:

People were standing and there was a lot of room there, not sure why they told you that  And people were keep coming from the hall, some were leaving... I know I left at some point because there was that young boy who wanted to play and the other contestants wouldn't let him, each of them wanted to play more and more, then I came back 

 

But I know there were some messy situations that evening, for example when they scanned my ticket, they asked me if I am Nina.  And because Nina was already in, after a few moments they said it's alright, I can enter anyway 

 

It's weird, because actually we just wanted to know where it takes place, but maybe they did in fact misunderstand us and thought we wanted to go to The Piano (tho I told them several times that we had tickets for that and we wanted to listen to the pianists who didn't make it to the final). They said we needed wristbands to get in and that unfortunately there weren't any places left.

 

Well, as you said, it probably was because they were generally a bit disorganized. 🙈

[dcdeb]

As I read through this discussion, I was thinking that maybe it was better that I was so sick last week that I couldn't join in -- Karin really expressed my feelings about the crowd and pushing very well. But as I see it is still going on, I guess maybe I do want to put my two cents in.

 

We were very lucky to have this meet & greet with Mika after the recording. We were a small enough group -- although 50 isn't that small -- and there was a perfect space inside for us to meet. So we didn't have to wait outside in the cold, we didn't have to wait for hours, wondering if he would come out, or if we'd missed him already, or if he'd snuck out another way. We KNEW we were going to have a few minutes with him, we just needed to be patient. Mika and his team knew that I had the yearbook and they wanted to get it from me in person along with everyone else there, especially since things have been so weird due to the pandemic the last few years. I was thrilled at their willingness to coordinate this, and really was looking forward to it as I hadn't had a chance to speak to Mika in person myself (aside from the Instagram Lives) for a few years -- didn't talk to him in Paris last year, or in NY or Toronto, or even in London back in July.

 

Yes, there was a lot of miscommunication about where our group should wait -- in the hall after the recording, in the "Blue" area outside the hall... every time security spoke to me, they told me something different. But what wasn't unclear was when security asked us to do something and we DIDN'T do it. How many times did they ask everyone not to crowd the door, to move over to one side? They wanted to move the seats back in and asked several times to clear a path, but did we? For a few seconds, maybe. I asked a number of times for the group to move over and was largely ignored.

I mean, we're ALL always excited to see Mika -- I still am after all this time. At my core, I'm a fangirl, I admit it.

But that's no excuse to behave like the rules don't apply to us. It's how accidents happen and people get injured -- I'm really upset to hear about the woman in the wheelchair who was hurt. And I know I am not your mother, or your boss, but I do feel responsible and as someone said earlier, it's in our best interests for the Mika Fan Club to have a good reputation.

 

 

On 11/20/2022 at 5:16 AM, Patricia Birden said:

I just want to say Mika is a very tall and strong man. He’s not going to get crushed by his fans. And besides because he is so tall he can see absolutely everything that’s going on around him, so no he certainly isn’t put out when amongst his fans. From my perspective he enjoys it otherwise he wouldn’t do it, and let’s face it, he’s been doing this for 15 years. Has he ever been crushed? Ran away?

 

As others have already said, Patricia, Mika HAS been crushed and he HAS run away. I've seen many times when it was clear that Mika left quickly or did not come out at all after a gig to greet fans because the crowd was way too big and out of control. I have also seen when fans have lunged at him to touch his face, or grab at his hair, or try to hug him when he wasn't expecting it, and have seen his reaction. It's the same reaction any of us would have if someone made unwanted advances toward us. A little bit of panic and fear and a lot of "I gotta get outta here now!"

 

 

23 hours ago, holdingyourdrink said:

It is not badly meant; but when it is received as something uncomfortable for him, he will not be inclined anymore to be as generous with us like last time in London. 

 

Right.

 

20 hours ago, krysady said:

I also felt bad when he asked where's Deb, she got blocked somewhere in the back behind others, although we got that meeting thanks to her.

 

As I said, he knew to look for me, so I wasn't in danger of missing him this time. And honestly, I have had plenty of attention from Mika over the years, so I am always OK if he speaks to someone else instead! But when he made the joke about everyone needing to step back because I was short and you couldn't see me -- well, I think that was actually his way of telling everyone to give him space and not crowd around so close. He just tried to say it in a funny way.

 

Anyway, I don't want to get too heavy-handed and go on and on about it. I just hope that the next time an opportunity like this comes up we can all remember to show a little more restraint and respect for not only Mika, but for each other.

[virgi]

On 11/17/2022 at 6:15 AM, virgi said:

I only filmed the yearbook part, but yes, I'll post it here as soon as possible! 

 

And I'd like to see other videos from the opposite angle as well, even if I'm short and I was hiding (unintentionally ofc) behind someone's back

I tried several times during the weekend but it always says that my video is too heavy, even if I cut it… let’s try again 🤞🏻 

 

 

[virgi]

Part 2:

 

 

[krysady]

3 hours ago, virgi said:

I tried several times during the weekend but it always says that my video is too heavy, even if I cut it… let’s try again 🤞🏻 

Thank you!  For some reason I can open only the part.2 , it says the part 1 it's another format