Governor Koster: Discriminatory Foreigner-Run Event in Bali Must Not Happen Again

Bali Governor Wayan Koster has spoken out regarding the foreign-national (WNA) running community in Canggu Village, Kuta Utara District, Badung, which discriminated against Indonesian citizens (WNI). Koster stressed that such a thing must not happen again in Bali.

“Oh, they are being pursued by the Bali Regional Police. It must not happen again — a circular has already been issued, so firm action is being taken,” Koster explained when met at the Ngurah Rai Grand Forest Park (Tahura) in Denpasar, as reported by detikBali on Monday (27/7/2026).

According to Koster, the police and immigration authorities are pursuing two Dutch nationals suspected of organising the event. Koster also said that the Badung Regent, I Wayan Adi Arnawa, is conducting an investigation into the staging of the activity.

“The Badung Regent is carrying out an investigation. Something like that must not happen again,” Koster asserted.

As previously reported, the running event titled Bali Silent Disco became the target of netizens’ criticism. The running event was suspected of violating immigration regulations and was rife with discrimination against local residents. Not only discriminatory, the running club’s activities were also frequently complained about for disrupting order on public roads.

The running event was known to have been organised by a running community called Entourage Bali, whose members were foreign nationals. A number of registrants with phone numbers beginning with +62 — that is, Indonesian citizens — were even rejected from joining the community’s WhatsApp group. This controversy has also drawn the attention of members of the regional council as well as foreign media.