ENG-2004 — Page 494

428 Recreation, Sport and the Arts

Wan Civic Centre and Ko Shan Theatre in Kowloon; and the Sha Tin Town Hall, Tsuen Wan Town Hall, Tuen Mun Town Hall, Kwai Tsing Theatre, Yuen Long Theatre, North District Town Hall and Tai Po Civic Centre in the New Territories. To further enhance the artistic environment and provide better facilities, the Tsuen Wan Town Hall and Sheung Wan Civic Centre were closed for large-scale renovation projects in early 2004 and the facilities were re-opened for public use in late 2004.

Through the Artist-in-residence Scheme, 12 local arts groups made use of these 11 venues for a designated period in 2004 to develop and promote their creative works and education programmes among the district communities.

The Programme Partnership Scheme, first launched in 2002 at the Yuen Long Theatre and the North District Town Hall, was successfully re-launched at the Sheung Wan Civic Centre and the Ngau Chi Wan Civic Centre in 2003 as well as Tuen Mun Town Hall in 2004. Under this scheme, facilities and resources were provided to selected arts groups so they could organise audience-building programmes and create new works. In this way, the arts community was offered the opportunity to be involved in organising programmes and to fully utilise the facilities at these civic

centres.

Indoor Stadia

The Hong Kong Coliseum and the Queen Elizabeth Stadium are two of the largest multi-purpose indoor stadia in Hong Kong. The 12 500-seat coliseum is a leading venue for pop concerts, musicals, entertainment spectaculars, international sports events, cultural programmes, large-scale celebrations and conventions. The 3 600-seat stadium is suitable for holding sports events, cultural and entertainment performances, school ceremonies, conferences and variety shows.

In 2004, 455 performances were staged in the two indoor stadia, attracting over 2 million people.

West Kowloon Cultural District

To enhance Hong Kong's position as a centre of arts, culture and entertainment in Asia, the Government issued the Invitation for Proposals in September 2003, inviting proposals from the private sector to develop a waterfront site of about 40 hectares at the southern tip of West Kowloon into a world-class integrated arts, cultural, entertainment and commercial district - the West Kowloon Cultural District. By the submission deadline on June 19, the Government had received five proposals, three of which met the basic requirements. These three proposals will be further assessed.

To help the public better understand the three proposals and to facilitate an informed discussion, the Government has launched a public consultation exercise since mid-December with exhibitions of the three proposals and a series of forums. The Government will carefully analyse and consider the views of the public after the public consultation has been completed.