ENG-1983 — Page 290

RECREATION AND THE ARTS

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telecasts of events taking place. An adjoining annexe block, completed in November, accommodates administrative offices, a restaurant and storerooms.

Presentations during the year included ballet and circus performances, pop concerts and top sports events, while the opening of the Commonwealth Law Conference was held at the Coliseum in September. Some 645 000 people attended events staged in the arena.

Queen Elizabeth Stadium

Since its opening in 1980, the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, managed by the Urban Council, has been an important venue for international sports events and musical, cultural and entertainment programmes.

Facilities at the stadium complex include an air-conditioned arena with seating for 3 500, a multi-purpose hall, squash courts, table-tennis areas and gymnasia. The stadium also houses the Amateur Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong and 23 of its affiliated controlling sports bodies, facilitating the co-ordination and promotion of sports activities in Hong Kong. Towards the end of the year, a computerised central ticketing system for booking performances staged at Urban Council venues was installed at the stadium to provide an improved box-office service to the public.

Jubilee Sports Centre

The Jubilee Sports Centre, a 16-hectare modern sports complex at Sha Tin, has established itself as a centre of sports development in Asia since its official opening in October 1982. The centre provides first-class training facilities and top coaches in a wide range of sports. It has had more than 300 000 visits by local sportsmen and women participating in different youth development schemes, intensive training courses, residential camps and seminars, and competitions; it has played host to more than 10 international workshops and courses; and has accommodated a number of teams during the year. Major events and courses are organised in conjunction with sports' governing bodies and the government.

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 consists of two separate blocks with a connecting garden. The low block houses a 1 488-seat concert hall, a 468-seat theatre, an exhibition hall and a restaurant. The high block contains an exhibition gallery, a 116-seat recital hall, committee rooms, the Hong Kong Museum of Art and a public library. Managed by the Urban Council, the City Hall's facilities can be hired by the public as well as being used by the council for various functions and performances. Improvements were made to the building, its equipment and facilities during the year, and sophisticated lighting, sound and stage equipment was also installed.

With increasing public interest in cultural activities, the City Hall continues to be the centre of cultural life in Hong Kong. During the year, about 550 000 people attended 1 050