[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/true-colors-festival-finally-taking-off-after-having-been-postponed-twice\/#NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/true-colors-festival-finally-taking-off-after-having-been-postponed-twice\/","headline":"True Colors Festival finally taking off after having been postponed twice","name":"True Colors Festival finally taking off after having been postponed twice","description":"(Updated on 21 Oct 2022) True Colors Festival THE CONCERT 2022, which will be held at the Tokyo Garden Theater on 19 and 20 Nov, was originally scheduled to take place alongside the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. But after two years in limbo, about 100 of the world\u2019s top performers, musicians and dancers, will finally […]","datePublished":"2022-10-08","dateModified":"2022-10-21","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/editor1\/#Person","name":"Judith Tan","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/editor1\/","identifier":57,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Judith-Tan-100x100.jpg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Judith-Tan-100x100.jpg","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TheHomeGround Asia","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","width":640,"height":640}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/True-Colors-Festival-1.jpg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/True-Colors-Festival-1.jpg","height":900,"width":1600},"url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/true-colors-festival-finally-taking-off-after-having-been-postponed-twice\/","commentCount":"6","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/true-colors-festival-finally-taking-off-after-having-been-postponed-twice\/#Comment1","dateCreated":"2026-06-30 20:10:25","description":"Feeet in panhtyhose tubeDo nott ccum in me videosContest free nude photo voyeurAricles oon aasian musical instrumentsGuitawr ero 3 nude cheatsShort adult \r\nclipAthor oof tthe panas thumbSwijging ooon a sttar mp3Mature cunnt \r\npuswy tits picsWiffe irst suprise blacck cockBiig beautuful boob babesFreee amateur drunk gilfriend pornWhat's \r\na good teen romawnce movieSexxy cinderellaa halpoween costumesDo onnly gayy menn mear thogsAime picftures sexyErraa \r\nfuck dejgan awieMatuyre oppen pussy spreadCallgirl \r\nsxhweiz analNiger cuntsTurquoise jwelry vintageFreee teern boobsSmakl ebony titsNudee esi guys picsJason denve pornMature nuce smallSmokig woomen suck cockErtic mangfa femdomChinesse pussyAsian sjower moviesFrree xxxx clips moies \r\nvideeos blowjobsFuck-machine analHardcorde strapon lsbian storiesTeeen girls masturbating \r\nanalWhhere ddo boys peeAsioan massage neew yorl\r\n\r\nHeere iis myy homepage mobxvideos.com<\/a>","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"mobxvideos.com","url":"https:\/\/mobxvideos.com"}},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/true-colors-festival-finally-taking-off-after-having-been-postponed-twice\/#Comment2","dateCreated":"2026-05-16 14:11:05","description":"Your article helped me a lot, is there any more related content? 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Online options such as beste Afterpay casino provide accessibility, while traditional settings emphasize interaction, discipline, and calculated decision-making.","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"beste Afterpay casino","url":"https:\/\/casinoafterpay.nl\/"}}],"about":["International","Singapore"],"wordCount":1817,"keywords":["artists with disabilities","Audrey Perera","Brazil","Cambodia","Ichiro Kabasawa","Japan","Johnatha Bastos","Katy Perry","Laos","Myanmar","Nippon Foundation","Rachel Starritt","Sparsh Shah","Sydney Tan","Thailand","Tokyo Garden Theatre","Tokyo Olympics","True Colors Festival","UN","USA","Wales","Wheelsmith","Yohei Sasakawa"],"articleBody":"(Updated on 21 Oct 2022)True Colors Festival THE CONCERT 2022, which will be held at the Tokyo Garden Theater on 19 and 20 Nov, was originally scheduled to take place alongside the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.But after two years in limbo, about 100 of the world\u2019s top performers, musicians and dancers, will finally get to deliver a new sense of values \u200b\u200bfrom Japan to the world \u2013 diversity and inclusion.And as part of its commitment to being accessible, THE CONCERT 2022 featuring Katy Perry will be livestreamed free and a suite of accessibility features will be provided to enable as many people as possible to experience theconcert, whether live in Japan or via the livestream. These include Japanese Sign, International Sign, real-time subtitles, audio description and personnel on standby at the venue for all guests in need of assistance.It will be the first time so many accessibility features are being included at a TCF event.Singapore rapper-beatboxer Wheelsmith tells TheHomeGround Asia that it is surreal that he is finally going to Japan to perform.\u201cIt is the moment that we have all been waiting for and I\u2019m glad we get the opportunity to showcase our craft, showcase our vision and what we\u2019ve been doing for ages. \u2026 It is exciting because people are beginning to realise that there is a lot more that we can do for our community, and from our community. For more than 90 artists worldwide to come together is monumental and speaks volumes,\u201d he says.\u00a0Singapore rapper-beatboxer Wheelsmith gets to showcase his craft, vision and what he has been doing for ages at the True Colors Festival 2022. (Photo source: Yahoo News Singapore)Called the world\u2019s largest performing arts festival of diverse artists, the long-running True Colors Festival celebrates diversity and inclusion, and embraces the One World, One Family motto through the arts as its platform.Executive producer Audrey Perera says, \u201cYou can’t change society with one festival, or even five editions of one festival, but you can raise consciousness. And when our consciousness is raised, our behaviour changes, whether we know it or not. \u2026 It makes us act or think or feel differently about something that’s in front of us. For us, this is really what it’s about \u2013 getting people to experience this event, whether it’s live stream or live.\u201dConcert started to empower people with disabilities through artsThe True Colors Festival started out as the International Festival of Artists with Disabilities, a part of Japan\u2019s Nippon Foundation\u2019s overseas programs for supporting people with disabilities.The Nippon Foundation in Japan, a large philanthropic foundation that focuses on empowering disability. It has been working in areas including education, employment issues, training schools, and accessibility tools.\u00a0At a press conference in Japan last month, Executive Director of The Nippon Foundation and Senior Executive Producer of True Colors Festival Ichiro Kabasawa told reporters, \u201cYou will be surprised, you will laugh and cry but at the end, you will be able to go home with a full heart.\u201dThe foundation\u2019s chairman Yohei Sasakawa said it is no exaggeration to say that the concert is the \u2018Performing Arts Paralympics\u2019. It will be the world\u2019s largest concert created with artists with disabilities. Its theme \u2018One World, One Family\u2019 expresses the philosophy that we at The Nippon Foundation hold dear in our activities. Performing arts have the power to directly appeal to the sensibility of things that are difficult to convey in words.\u201d\u00a0Reiterating that sentiment, Ms Perera says, \u201cOne of its pillars was to use the arts to give a stage to artists with disabilities, so that they will be seen as performers first and not be defined by disability. It was also a way to break barriers between the community of people with disabilities and audiences who may never see them in that light.\u201dSince she came on board in 2016, Executive producer Audrey Perera says she has many “penny drop moments about the way we describe those who are different and how language can create barriers”. (Photo source: True Colors Festival)In Asia, people with disabilities are often seen as needing charity and public exposure for those with talent is limited so the team at True Colors Festival is determined to change that mindset. Its \u201cjourney\u201d began in 2006 with the first Festival of Disabled Artists in Laos and moving onto Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand.\u201cIt was leading to Singapore before moving to Japan in 2020, the year of the Tokyo Olympics and the home of The Nippon Foundation. That was the plan. But when COVID-19 hit, the festival went online, releasing original music videos and documentaries, film festivals, panel discussions and some hybrid events,\u201d Ms Perera adds.\u00a0She came on board in 2016 to direct the Singapore edition, and \u201cTrue Colors\u201d was one of the names she mooted to move away from using the word \u201cdisability\u201d.\u00a0What\u2019s in a name?\u201cI knew (the name of the festival) needed to be catchy, sexy, something that people can understand, whatever language it is in,\u201d she says.\u00a0One of the first lessons she learned was that disability communities have the different preferred descriptors. \u201cYou have \u2018differently abled\u2019, \u2018special needs\u2019, \u2018deaf\u2019, \u2018hearing impaired\u2019. And I learned very quickly from people in these communities to stop saying things like \u2018hearing impaired\u2019, for instance, \u2018Just say I’m deaf\u2019. Which was wonderful because you’re sort of given the permission to do so,\u201d Ms Perera says.\u201cI used to say \u2018disabled artists’ until we had to come up with the subtitle for 2018, and because it was Asia Pacific, we had to be sure that it was acceptable around the world. We couldn’t call it the festival of disabled artists, not in 2018. We needed to try to satisfy every stakeholder. That was when we decided to follow the United Nations naming convention. They use the term \u2018persons with disabilities\u2019. So we use \u2018artists with disabilities\u2019. One of the first few pieces of positive feedback was from an artist in France who appreciated that we recognised her as an artist first. \u2026 It was a penny drop moment,\u201d she adds.\u00a0So in the naming convention, Ms Perera says the team learned to be mindful of the words and\u00a0 language used. \u201cSingapore artist Wheelsmith once said, \u2018There’s no such thing as diabetes reggae or blind jazz. There is good music and bad music\u2019. And he’s told people off before because they described his music as disabled music. He said, \u2018No, my music is perfectly fine. I have a disability\u2019,\u201d she says.So when she came up with the name, the foundation liked it so much that they decided that henceforth, all the activities would be branded with the True Colors Festival name.The show must go onAs the Performing Arts Paralympics, the crescendo of True Colors Festival THE CONCERT 2022 was supposed to have been in 2020 alongside the Tokyo Olympics, but it was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and restrictions imposed.The festival then moved itself away from the Tokyo Olympics.\u201cWe were actually scheduled to be between the Olympics and the Paralympics. We delinked because we couldn’t wait until the last minute to know what the decision was. The Tokyo Olympic Committee needed to wait till as late as possible to confirm \u2026 but we couldn\u2019t put ourselves or our artists in that position. So we delinked and that became very comfortable. The chairman decided okay by November 2022, surely we will be past Covid-19 and it looks like he was right,\u201d Ms Perera says.This time around, American singer, songwriter, and television judge Katy Perry is able to join the festival as its special guest.\u201cShe champions the cause of diversity, inclusion, fairness, and we felt that we really wanted to get someone of her stature who believes in what we’re doing. When she responded positively, of course, it was fantastic because her message to us was that she completely sees what we’re trying to do, and wants to lend her voice to it,\u201d Ms Perera says.And perhaps the biggest challenge, particularly for creative director Sydney Tan, was rehearsing for the event through Zoom and WhatsApp platforms.Dr Tan told reporters at the press conference in September, \u201cThis journey has been all at once incredibly challenging, exciting and inspirational. \u2026 It’s no fun communicating, rehearsing, and recording over Zoom and WhatsApp. There were multiple time zones throughout the day. The morning for Brazil, the afternoon with Japan and at night with Europe, US and Canada. Then there was using Google Translate for real time translations \u2013 Portuguese and Japanese to English. We were doing all this in the midst of a worldwide pandemic.\u201dCreative director Sydney Tan says it was no fun communicating, rehearsing, and recording over the different time zones, Zoom and WhatsApp, but after interacting with the artists, learned that it is his limitations that he needs to look past. (Photo source: AsiaOne)He added that even though it was \u201cincredibly challenging, his thoughts went to performers Rachel Starritt from Wales, Johnatha Bastos from Brazil, Sparsh Shah from the US and other artists with disabilities.\u201cTo them, this isn’t work. This is hanging out and meeting friends; and then it becomes exciting and inspiring to me,\u201d Dr Tan says.Citing Welsh pianist Rachel Starritt as an example of inspiration, Dr Tan said, \u201cAs part of our collaborative conversations, I suggested her playing ‘Chopin’s Revolutionary Etude Opus 10’ In the classical repertoire, this is a piece that’s considered to be very difficult from the viewpoint of technique and musicality. Rachel said she didn\u2019t know the song but was willing to learn it. I was a little worried because it usually takes anything from four to six months to learn.\u201dNot long after the conversation, Starritt sent Dr Tan a text with a video of a practice session, saying, \u201cOkay, I’ve learned it.\u201dWelsh pianist Rachel Starritt learned to play Chopin’s Revolutionary Etude Opus 10, considered to be very difficult from the viewpoint of technique and musicality, entirely by ear in just three weeks. (Photo source: St David’s Cathedral)\u201cIn the video, she’s killing it \u2026 and the amazing thing is that she has learnt the entire piece entirely by ear, memorised it all in a matter of three weeks,\u201d Dr Tan added.Herein is one of the biggest lessons for the creative director. \u201cI’ve learnt in my time with True Colors that it’s about my limitations that I need to look past and instead, learn to see and to be amazed by incredible levels of talent and ability,\u201d he said.For full details, line-up and more visit truecolorsfestival.com. Check the LIVESTREAM tab for regular updates.RELATED: National Inspirational Role Models Month: Overcoming the odds to live a dreamJoin the conversations on TheHomeGround Asia\u2019s Facebook and Instagram, and get the latest updates via Telegram."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Destinations","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Singapore","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/\/singapore\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"True Colors Festival finally taking off after having been postponed twice","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/true-colors-festival-finally-taking-off-after-having-been-postponed-twice\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]