HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
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Urban Council's statistical report for 1995/96. According to this report, the total attendance of Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra's concerts in 94/95 was 108,267 whereas the attendance in 95/96 was 73,867. There are two main reasons for the decline in attendance:
(i) First, for the premiere of the musical "Tales of the Walled City", the overall attendance of 15,640 was included in the attendance reports of the three companies for 94/95 as this was a joint production of the UC's three Performing Companies. For 1995/96 the attendance figure of 15,724 for the re-run of the musical was included in the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre's attendance report only in order to avoid double-counting.
(ii) Secondly, an audience of 12,000 was recorded for the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra's participation in the National Day Cultural Performance held at the HK Coliseum on 1 October 1994 whilst there was no such performance in 95/96.
As regards the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre's attendance, an increase of 5,672 had been recorded in 95/96, representing an increase of 6.75% over that of 94/95. As for the Hong Kong Dance Company, if the attendance figures of the 'Tales' were excluded, the attendance in 95/96 reflected a slight gain of 914, representing an increase of 1.6% over that of 94/95.
The Culture Select Committee and its Performing Companies Sub-Committee are always concerned about attendance levels for performances by the three companies. Considering the different circumstances and different requirements of the respective companies, the Performing Companies Sub-Committee has embarked on a series of efforts to strengthen the marketing and publicity of each company, and a set of such strategies for the Hong Kong Dance Company has recently been endorsed by the Sub-Committee.
Regarding Mr. CHAN's second question, for 95/96, the subsidy levels of Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, Hong Kong Dance Company and Hong Kong Repertory Theatre were 94.6%, 97% and 77% respectively. The subsidy per head was $440 for the activities of HKCO, $364 for HKDC and $208 for HKRT.
The position in response to Mr. Chan's third question is as follows. If ticket sales for a particular performance are not satisfactory, free tickets may be distributed to schools, students of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and relevant art groups. Distribution of tickets to the elderly can certainly be considered in future, depending on the suitability of the programmes in question.
Mr. Chan Choi-Hi (in Cantonese):—I have three follow-up questions. The first one concerns the way that the attendance rate of "Tales of the Walled City" was handled. I would like to know the basic concept and the reasons that attendance figures were handled differently for the first and second years. This first question
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