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RECREATION, SPORTS AND THE ARTS
from the USA, the Zhanjiang Cantonese Opera Troupe, the Circus-On-Stage, and the Dance Brazil.
Locally, the council commissioned the High Noon Production Co. to produce a comic drama, Fools, while district organisations offered a wide variety of performances including Cantonese opera, children's choir, drama, and dance drama. In total, the cultural programmes of the festival attracted 44 159 people.
The festival ended on December 13 with a variety show at Sha Tsui Road Playground in Tsuen Wan which was also broadcast live on television.
District Festivals Subsidy Scheme
Under the District Festivals Subsidy Scheme, the Regional Council assists local bodies to organise public recreation, sports and cultural activities most suited to their own districts. The types of programme covered include arts and sports festivals, dragon boat races, mid-autumn festival celebrations and lunar new year carnivals.
During the year, some $5 million was allocated to the nine districts under the jurisdiction of the council in support of 53 festive celebrations for the participation of a total of over 600 000 people.
Festival Hong Kong '92 in Canada
As part of the programme of Festival Hong Kong '92 in Canada, the Regional Council's museums section presented its first overseas exhibition on Cantonese opera, The Art of Chinese Theatre: Made in Hong Kong, in Toronto from August 15 to September 27, and in Vancouver from October 17 to January 17.
The exhibition introduced to the Canadian public how Hong Kong has given life to this century-old form of theatrical art and the council's policy to preserve and promote the heritage of Cantonese opera as part of the territory's cultural identity.
Through the broadcast of video and audio tapes and display of the council's rich collection on Cantonese opera, which includes photographs, models, props, costumes and musical instruments, the exhibition explored the history, development and transformation of Cantonese opera in the 20th century.
Beaches and Swimming Pools
Swimming is Hong Kong's most popular form of summer recreation. During 1992, some 13.4 million people visited the beaches and another 6.9 million enjoyed using the numerous public swimming pools managed by the municipal councils.
There are at present 42 gazetted bathing beaches, 12 on Hong Kong Island managed by the Urban Council and 30 in the New Territories managed by the Regional Council. Facilities provided at these beaches range from changing rooms, toilets, showers, first-aid posts, lookout towers, light refreshment kiosks to picnic areas and other ancillary facilities. The water quality of these beaches is regularly checked and made known to the public.
The two councils manage 27 public swimming complexes: 14 in the Urban Council area and 13 in the Regional Council area. The competition pools in these complexes have been built to international standards. Three public swimming pool projects are under planning in the urban areas. As a first step to provide leisure pool facilities to the public, the Urban