RECREATION
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To bring more colour and greenery to urban life, 176,041 trees, shrubs and flowers were planted during the year. The Urban Council and Urban Services Department now manage a total of 1,630 acres of public open space-1,062 acres in the urban areas and the rest in the New Territories.
The annual Urban Council flower show, held in late March, attracted 123,000 visitors to the City Hall.
Entertainment and the Arts
The importance of Hong Kong as a major cultural centre in Asia is illustrated by the many overseas artists and performing groups presented at the City Hall by the Urban Council. In 1975 there were 50 such performances. Some were presented with the assistance of various consulates and national cultural organisations such as the Alliance Francaise, the Goethe Institute and the Dante Alighieri.
Cultural life in Hong Kong has centred around the City Hall since it was opened in 1962. It is administered by the Urban Council and facilities include: a 1,500-seat concert hall which can quickly be converted for theatrical productions; an intimate 470-seat theatre which may also be used as a cinema; two exhibition areas; rooms for lectures and conferences; and two restaurants with bars. The buildings also house the Hong Kong Museum of Art and the City Hall Library.
Local performers as well as visiting artists appear regularly in the two auditoria, and the demand for use of facilities is heavy. Local artists presented by the Urban Council in 1975 gave performances which included 38 concerts of Chinese and Western music, and 15 productions of opera, drama and dance. The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra performed 21 different programmes in 61 concerts in its second professional
season.
Apart from Urban Council presentations, local music groups and soloists gave 85 concerts at the City Hall during the year. In drama, many Chinese groups---amateur as well as professional-and three English amateur groups presented 21 productions, with 115 performances at the City Hall.
The major event of the year was the 1975 Hong Kong Arts Festival, presented in February by the Hong Kong Arts Festival Society in association with the Urban Council. There were concerts by the English Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre National Francais, the Australian Youth Orchestra and the Spanish National Or- chestra. Opera and drama was presented by the Royal Swedish Opera and the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, and flamenco dancing by the Lucero Tena Spanish Dance Ensemble. World-renowned soloists who performed at the festival included Isaac Stern, Alicia de Larrocha, Narciso Yepes and Yi-Kwei Sze. Hong Kong had a full month of music, dance and drama.
Because the success of the City Hall indicates that there is a demand for even greater cultural facilities, the Urban Council has made plans for a cultural complex at Tsim Sha Tsui, on the site of the old railway terminus. There will be a double auditorium block with halls seating 2,500 and 1,000, a restaurant block, a museum