ENG-1989 — Page 352

RECREATION AND THE ARTS

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To further enhance the development and promotion of the arts in various districts, a third community arts centre, the Sai Wan Ho Civic Centre, is expected to be completed in mid-1990. Conveniently located on top of the Sai Wan Ho MTR Station, the new centre will consist of a 489-seat theatre, a multi-purpose cultural activities hall, three specially-designed art studios for ceramic, painting and print-making classes and two music practice rooms. It will serve Eastern District residents.

Ko Shan Theatre

The Ko Shan Theatre is the only purpose-built semi-open air theatre in Hong Kong. It has 3 000 seats of which 2 000 are in the open.

Equipped with sophisticated lighting, sound and projection systems, it is suitable for a wide variety of cultural and entertainment events. Popular Cantonese operas are fre- quently staged.

During the year, 98 900 people attended 151 performances in the theatre.

Indoor Stadia

The Hong Kong Coliseum and the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, both under the management of the Urban Council, are multi-purpose indoor stadia. During the year, some 400 presentations were held at the two venues drawing a total attendance of 1 807 000.

The 12 500-seat inverted-pyramidal Hong Kong Coliseum was the venue for a wide variety of concerts by overseas and local artists, sports events, family entertainment, -cultural activities, exhibitions and conferences. In 1989, a Hong Kong superstar set a

record by staging 38 consecutive concerts to entertain a total audience of 408 500.

The 3 500-seat Queen Elizabeth Stadium offers an ideal alternative for staging medium-sized productions. The wide spectrum of events presented ranged from sports competitions, trade fairs, music concerts and variety shows to ceremonial and religious functions. Its ancillary facilities, including badminton, squash, volleyball and basketball courts, table-tennis play areas, gymnasia and committee rooms, cater for the general public and were used by 192 000 people during the year. The Queen Elizabeth Stadium is also the home base of the Amateur Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong and its 25 affiliated national sports associations.

Hong Kong Arts Centre

Hong Kong Arts Centre is an independent, non-profit-making organisation founded in 1977 to promote arts and culture. Its main source of funding comes from corporate sponsorship, donations from benevolent individuals and rental income.

In its 13th year of operation as an important community resource, it continues to present a wide range of cultural activities, including drama, dance, music, film and the visual arts, in a way which is comprehensible, accessible and fulfilling to the public. These activities, with their emphasis on education and appreciation, their outreach to the community and their encouragement of local artists, enjoyed much public support. Already well over 700 000 patrons have passed through the centre's doors during the year.

Altogether, 875 performances were staged in the centre's three auditoria - the Shouson Theatre, the Recital Hall and the Studio Theatre. A further 84 exhibitions were placed on view in the Pao Sui Loong Galleries. The two rehearsal rooms, art and craft studios, music practice rooms and other areas were used for 590 arts-related classes and courses.

Highlights of the year included a youth drama project, a children's summer arts festival, an international sculpture project and a photographic symposium.