ENG-2007 — Page 468

396 Recreation, Sport and the Arts

July 1 and 2 for free use by members of the public. Some 290 000 people used the indoor sports facilities and swimming pools during those two days.

The Hong Kong Games made its debut in 2007 to celebrate the HKSAR's 10th anniversary. It will be held biennially in future to promote a strong sporting culture in Hong Kong. It was the first ever territory-wide major multi-sports games held with the 18 District Councils participating. The Games have not only encouraged people to take part in sporting activities, they also strengthened their sense of belonging to the districts. They also facilitated communication and promoted friendship among the 18 districts. A total of 1 287 athletes participated in four sporting competitions: athletics, badminton, basketball and table tennis, and over 100 000 took part in the games' promotional activities during April and May.

The International DanceSport Extravaganza was another major event subvented by the LCSD to celebrate the HKSAR's 10th anniversary. This event featured a series of dancesport competitions and demonstrations by different age groups and was the first of its kind to be held in Hong Kong. The two-day event's highlight was a world class 'International DanceSport Competition' with top international dancesport couples from Europe, America and Asian countries/regions competing for the championship trophy. Over 4 000 contestants, performers and members of the public participated in the event which attracted over 10 000 spectators. In addition, a group of 10-year-old athletes performed a dance at the event. Some 540 couples took part in a dance session, 'Largest Dance by Couples', to break the Guinness World Records for the titled event.

A mega Tai Chi show was held at the former Kai Tak Airport to give exponents of the martial art exercise an opportunity to exchange know-how about the exercise and to celebrate the HKSAR's 10th anniversary. More than 20 000 tai chi exponents and tai chi masters from the Mainland took part in the show, setting a new Hong Kong record.

Other major sports programmes, held with the support of the commercial sector, took place between June and August to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Establishment of the HKSAR. These events included the HKSAR 10th Anniversary Reunification Cup (football), the 2007 International Dragon Boat Races, Gymnastics Extravaganza, Euro-Asia Snooker Master Challenge 2007 and 2007 FIVB World Grand Prix Hong Kong. More than 110 000 people turned up to watch the events which was given wide media coverage.

Sports Subvention Scheme

The LCSD is responsible for providing subvention to the NSAs and other sporting organisations for the promotion and development of sports. The subvention covers office and personnel expenses and spending on programmes by the NSAs.

During the year, 58 NSAs and 27 sporting organisations were provided with funds amounting to about $178 million by the LCSD. Over 10 000 programmes for different sports were organised by the NSAs and other organisations, attracting over 692 000 participants. Among the most popular programmes were the Youth Football