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Festival of Hongkong will be biggest spectacular ever
The third Festival of Hongkong, which will take place between November 23 and December 2, will be the largest ever held in Hongkong -- and probably the largest in the world.
This was announced by the Chairman of the Festival Executive Committee, Mr A, de O. Sales, at a press conference yesterday.
"With more than a million people taking part, the festival will probably be the largest event of its kind in the world
in the number of events and the wide range of activities," Mr Sales said.
The festival will feature the largest military tattoo to be held in the Commonwealth since before World War II. It will include a battle scene in the Government Stadium as well as a band and a motorcycle display from England.
Just about every event will be free of charge, Mr Sales said, but there will be a small charge in some cases to control attendance, and in other cases such as the military tattoo help cover expenses.
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"The budget, excluding staff, rent and so on, is $2.3 million," Mr Sales said. "The festival is responsible only for this official budget not for the everts put on by local civic groups or those sponsored by local commercial organisations who will be putting on some of their own events."
Processions will form a major part of the festival beginning with a spectacular one down Nathan Road, an illuminated procession of boats through the harbour and a gala opening ceremony which will be more of a static spectacle than an actual procession to be held in the Government Stadium.
The Chairman of School Activities. Mr M.C. Caswell, said that he could not give details of the stadium programme since not all events had been confirmed, but some of the items would probably
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include a mass military band, mass lion dancing and schools pageant involving at least 1,000 school children with coloured torches.
This mass dance will be an ethnic production from northern China and about eight other Chinese items involving such activities as lion dances will be staged.
The reason these will be static and not in procession form is because they can be spread out to create a greater spectacle when presented in an area such as the stadium, Mr Caswell said.
On the sports side, many thousands of residents will take part in competitions in 31 different sports from badminton to billiards and chess to Chinese martial arts as well as such diverse activities as kart racing, softball and shooting
events.
A mini-soccer tournament will involve more than 100 teams throughout Hongkong and three volleyball competitions for adults and young people will be held while world championship 505 class yacht races at Repulse Bay are expected to attract 60 to 70 boats from overseas.
The Chairman of the Music and Performing Arts sector of the festival, Mr Rae Oblitas, described the events taking place in this area.
"The emphasis will be on the orchestral and choral because this is where Hongkong's strength seems to lie," he said, "with soloists, instrumentalists and music in the Chinese classical idiom as well."
The Garrison Players will get together with the Hongkong Stage Club to put on a Shakespeare production, "A Winter's Tale," a seldom performed play.
Mr Oblitas added that it was also possible that a number of Chinese groups would join to put on a Chinese play but this had not been confirmed. Productions of local ballet
have been confirmed as well as
3 number of modern band concerts.
A number of exhibitions are also to be held during the festival, the main feature being an art market where local artists will display their work at City Hall and perhaps sell it afterwards.
A mobile exhibition mounted on containers will be sent to three towns in the New Territories and a marine life exhibition (not connected with the new oceanarium being built) will be set up at the CMA site.
The marine life will be typical of that found in the waters around Hongkong.
The most valuable exhibition of postage stamps ever held in the Far East with participants from Asian countries who are also taking place in the Asian Stamp Congress, will be held during the festival.
The stamp exhibition will contain stamps worth more than $1 million.
A commercial design competition will be held and young children will be able to take part in a mural painting display.
Special activities for the disabled and parties for the aged аге featured in а programme expected to include nearly 600 performances, and every district in the Colony will have its own local events and celebrations.
"As soon as the New Territories plans are completed the fourth draft programme of the festival will be issued," Mr Sales said.
The third draft has already been issued, but the fifth and final programme will only be published when the fourth draft has been finished.
Mr Sales said that the reason for the delay in many of the details was that Hongkong was short of venues such as concert halls and playgrounds and care had to be taken in the bookings to ensure that there was no overlap in the bookings.