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RECREATION AND THE ARTS
venue en route to major tournaments, while others have stayed at the centre specifically to work together with Hong Kong squads and the centre's coaches. It has had more than 380 000 visits by local and overseas sportsmen and women participating in different youth development schemes, intensive training courses, residential camps, seminars and competitions. The centre has played host to many international workshops and courses and accommodated a number of teams during the year. Major events and courses are organised in conjunction with the sports' governing bodies. The combination of world standard facilities and the centre's team of expert coaches has helped achieve many out- standing results. Assistance was also given in the preparation of Hong Kong athletes for the Olympic Games. A highlight of the year was the success of the Hong Kong swimming team in the Second Asian Championships in Korea.
Innovative facilities at the centre include Hong Kong's first covered track for all-weather sprint and hurdle training, the first cycle velodrome and an ozone treated swimming pool. Additionally, outdoors there are three grass soccer pitches, an eight-lane Olympic track, a tennis range, a jogging trail, an artificial turf training area, a hockey pitch, an area for baseball and softball, and courts for basketball, volley ball and mini-tennis. Indoors there are squash courts, a gymnasium, a dance studio, a weight and strength training room, and halls for a variety of sports. The centre, which provides residential accommodation for about 100 people, is managed by an independent board; its annual operating expenses are subvented by the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club.
City Hall
Opened in 1962, the City Hall occupies about 11 000 square metres in Central District and includes two separate blocks with a connecting garden. The low block houses a 1 488-seat concert hall, a 467-seat theatre, an exhibition hall and both Chinese and Western restaurants. The high block contains an exhibition gallery, a 116-seat recital hall, com- mittee rooms, a Marriage Registry, the Hong Kong Museum of Art and libraries operated by the Urban Council.
The City Hall is administered by the Urban Council. Its facilities are available for hire by the public and it is used by the council for various functions and performances. With increasing public interest in cultural activities, the City Hall continues to be the centre of cultural life in Hong Kong. In 1984, about 550 000 people attended 1 100 performances held in the concert hall, the theatre and the recital hall; and a total of 130 exhibitions were held at the exhibition hall and exhibition gallery.
During the year, the Urban Council featured a total of 487 performances by both local and overseas artists and groups, with the visitors including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, New York Philharmonic Orchestra and cellist Mstislav Rostropovich. These performances comprised orchestral and vocal concerts, drama, ballet, folk and modern dances, Chinese and Western operas, mime, lecture demonstrations and master classes with a total attendance of 392 195. Some of the presentations took place with the assistance of other cultural organisations such as the British Council, the Goethe Institute, the Alliance Francaise and various consulates.
To promote local artistic talent and cultivate public interest, the Urban Council staged 42 vocal and instrumental recitals, 38 operatic performances and 13 Chinese and Western dance performances by local groups.
With the introduction of a computerised ticketing system in May, the City Hall Box Office now has computer terminals at which patrons can buy tickets for performances held at any of the Urban Council's venues.