ENG-2009 — Page 465

Recreation, Sport and the Arts 385

In December, the stadium and coliseum were two of the competition venues for Hong Kong 2009 East Asian Games (EAG) events. The coliseum was also the site for the spectacular closing ceremony of the Games on December 13.

West Kowloon Cultural District

The West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) is a strategic investment by the Government to meet the long-term infrastructure needs of the arts and cultural sector, which plays a vital part of any world-class city's economic and social fabric. The WKCD will provide quality culture, entertainment and tourism programmes that will appeal to both residents and visitors from around the world. When completed, it will comprise 15 performing arts venues, a cultural institution focused on 20th-21st century visual culture and an Exhibition Centre.

The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (the Authority) was established in July 2008. A one-off endowment of $21.6 billion to meet the capital costs of the WKCD project was approved by the Legislative Council in July 2008. The Board of the Authority, underpinned by six committees, has taken forward the planning for the WKCD's development. In February 2009, the Authority appointed 21 members to its Consultation Panel to gather public views on matters relating to the functions of the Authority.

In preparing the development plan, the Authority has undertaken a three-stage public engagement exercise to gauge public views. The three-month long first stage of the exercise was launched in early October 2009 to gauge the community's aspirations for and expectations of the WKCD as a whole, and the views of the arts and cultural stakeholders on the requirements of the facilities in the arts and cultural

venues.

URBTIX

URBTIX (Urban Ticketing System) commenced operation in 1984 and has become the most widely-used computerised ticketing system in Hong Kong. It offers patrons a range of convenient and reliable ticketing services through its network of 39 outlets as well as internet and telephone booking services. In 2009, over $638 million was paid through URBTIX for some 4.02 million tickets for over 6 800 performances.

Cultural Presentations

LCSD Cultural Presentations

The LCSD provides quality cultural programmes on a year-round basis. In 2009, a total of 925 performances featured local and visiting artists in a variety of cultural programmes appealing to audiences of all ages. They were attended by more than 451 000 people.

To celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, the LCSD presented a Cantonese Operatic Songs Gala Concert featuring special guest star Lam Kar-sing and more than 20 master artistes from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. The year also marked the 20th Anniversary of the Hong

Page 465Page 466

386 Recreation, Sport and the Arts