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the image and character of individual venues and their partners, enlarging the audience base, optimising use of space and facilities of the venues, developing marketing strategies and soliciting sponsorship, encouraging community involvement. in the development of the arts in Hong Kong and contributing to the development of the performing arts scene.
Under a three-year pilot scheme, the venue partners are able to make advance programme plans through priority bookings and funding support, thus enhancing their programme preparation. Some venue partners commenced their activities under the scheme in the second quarter of 2008 and it will be fully launched in 2009-10 with all 18 venue partners engaged in performances and activities in 10 performance venues managed by the LCSD.
Indoor Stadia
Opened in 1983 and 1980 respectively, the 12 500-seat Hong Kong Coliseum and 3 600-seat Queen Elizabeth Stadium are two of the largest multi-purpose indoor stadia in Hong Kong. Their flexible stage and seating structure, coupled with world class facilities, are suited for international and local activities, ranging from cultural and entertainment to sporting and celebratory events. A total of 29 and 61 events were staged in the Coliseum and the Stadium, attracting over 857 000 and 184 000 people respectively.
In preparation for the 2009 East Asian Games, major improvement works were arranged in 2008 to provide an entirely new look for these two venues.
West Kowloon Cultural District
The West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) is a major initiative taken by the Government to implement its policy on enhancing arts and culture in Hong Kong. The aim is to develop an integrated arts and cultural district with world-class arts and cultural facilities, distinguished talents, iconic architectures and quality programmes with a must-visit appeal to local people and tourists.
The Government has accepted the recommendations of the Consultative Committee on the Core Arts and Cultural Facilities (CACF) for developing the WKCD. These include 15 different size venues for a comprehensive variety of performing arts. These will be developed in two phases: a cultural institution with museum functions (temporarily known as M+) focusing on 20th to 21st century visual culture, and an exhibition centre focusing on arts and culture and the creative industries, with not less than three hectares of piazza areas.
The findings of the three-month Public Engagement (PE) exercise, conducted from mid-September to mid-December 2007, indicated strong public support for the recommendations of the CACF.
The draft legislation on the establishment of an independent statutory body, the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA), to undertake the WKCD project was introduced into the Legislative Council in February 2008. This was enacted in July 2008 and a one-off up-front endowment of $21.60 billion to cover the capital costs of the WKCD project was also approved by the Legislative Council.