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|香港政府 GIS 新聞處

DAILY INFORMATION BULLETIN

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1977.

ARTS FESTIVAL HAS GROWN RAPIDLY IN STATURE AND QUALITY

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PRINCESS ALEXANDRA OPENED THE FIFTH HONG KONG ARTS FESTIVAL TODAY IN CITY HALL CONCERT HALL. SHE HAD BEEN INTRODUCED BY MR. RUN RUN SHAW, CHAIRMAN OF THE HONG KONG ARTS FESTIVAL SOCIETY, WHO SAID THAT IN FIVE YEARS THE FESTIVAL HAD BECOME AN INTEGRAL PART OF HONG KONG'S COMMUNITY LIFE. IT HAD ALSO ATTRACTED TOURISTS AND COMBINED THE TALENTS OF WELL-KNOWN ARTISTS FROM THE EAST AND THE WEST.

+BUT+, HE ADED, +PRIMARILY THE OBJECTIVE OF OUR ARTS FESTIVAL IS TO GIVE ALL OUR PEOPLE A MORE ABUNDANT CULTURAL LIFE.+

IN HER REPLY THE PRINCESS SAID THAT SHE AND HER HUSBAND WERE DELIGHTED TO BE BACK IN HONG KONG, ESPECIALLY DURING THE FESTIVAL, WHICH HAD GROWN RAPIDLY IN STATURE AND QUALITY SINCE ITS BEGINNING IN 1973.

+ I HAVE WATCHED THE PHENOMENAL DEVELOPMENT OF HONG KONG, + HER ROYAL HIGHNESS SAID, AND AT THE SAME TIME THE THINGS YOU ARE DOING TO WIDEN THE LIFE OF YOUR COMMUNITY. YOU HAVE FOUND THAT MATERIAL SUCCESS IS NOT ENOUGH. I AM THEREFORE DELIGHTED THAT HONG KONG IS TAKING FULL ADVANTAGE OF ITS UNIQUE POSITION AS A MEETING GROUND FOR THE CULTURAL HERITAGES OF THE EAST AND THE WEST, AND IS FAST DEVELOPING INTO AN IMPORTANT INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR THE ARTS.+

THE PRINCESS HOPED THIS YEAR'S FESTIVAL WOULD BE EVEN MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN EVER.

EARLIER, THERE HAD BEEN A FESTIVE AIR AT THE GALA OPENING ENTERTAINMENTS ENJOYED BY A CROWD OF OVER 1,000 WAITING IN EDINBURGH PLACE TO SEE THE PRINCESS ARRIVE. THE ONE-HOUR PROGRAMME BEGAN WITH THE ROYAL HONG KONG POLICE BAND IN WHITE AND BLACK DRESS UNIFORMS WITH PIPES AND DRUMS. THEY MARCHED AND COUNTER-MARCHED, THEN HALTED WHILE THEIR DRUMMERS GAVE A SKILFUL DISPLAY OF DRUMSTICK TECHNIQUE.

THEY WERE FOLLOWED BY THE BAND AND BUGLES OF THE 1ST BATTALION THE LIGHT INFANTRY, WHO PROVIDED AN EFFECTIVE CONTRAST IN DARK GREEN UNIFORMS AND ALSO IN MARCHING STYLES, WITH THEIR TRADITIONALLY FAST PACE OF 140 STEPS TO THE MINUTE.

ATTENTION THEN

Issued by Government Information Services, Beaconsfield House, Hong Kong. Tel: 5-233191

PRH 7

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