Recreation, Sport and the Arts | 387
a series of Community Thematic Carnivals was launched in Tseung Kwan O, Sham Shui Po and Tung Chung with stage performances and participatory activities. tailor-made for the community. To enhance cultural exchanges between the local and Asian communities in Hong Kong, the LCSD once again organised events such as 'Concert in the Park' featuring Filipino artists presented in collaboration with the Consulate-General of the Philippines, and the 'Asian Ethnic Cultural Performances' with flavours of nine countries and cities participating in the Hong Kong 2009 East Asian Games.
Arts Education and Audience-building Projects
During the year, the LCSD organised 1 143 arts education and audience-building activities. These included territory-wide schemes implemented at school and community levels namely Community Cultural Ambassador Scheme, District Cantonese Opera Parade, School Culture Day Scheme, School Arts Animateur Scheme and Arts Experience Scheme for Senior Secondary Students. Two new initiatives were unveiled in 2009 — the first offering the opportunity for students to perform publicly in the neigbourhood of their schools at the premises of voluntary agencies while the second was 'Let's Enjoy Cantonese Opera in a Bamboo Theatre', a project organised in partnership with various district organisations featuring Cantonese opera performances and interactive educational activities designed for the participation of children.
Major Cultural Events
Hong Kong Arts Festival
Held annually in February and March, the Hong Kong Arts Festival is one of Asia's most prestigious international festivals. In 2009 it presented 126 performances, including four free outdoor performances, and attracted a total audience of over 117 000, among them 12 400 under the Young Friends of the Festival scheme. Box office receipts amounted to $32 million representing sales of 94 per cent of available tickets.
Highlights of the festival included the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Bernard Haitink, The Berlin Symphony Orchestra under Ingo Metzmacher, the Latvian National Opera's productions of Handel's Alcina and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk by Shostakovich, the Shanghai Yueju Opera Theatre, the Beijing Opera All-stars, the National Ballet of China in The Peony Pavilion, the English National Ballet's Alice in Wonderland, the Theatre Royal Bath's production of Shaw's Pygmalion directed by Peter Hall, Metamorphosis adapted and directed by David Farr and Gisli Orn Gardarsson, In-l: co-directed and performed by Juliette Binoche and Akram Khan, The Wooster Group's The Emperor Jones, and the Festival's own production of Murder in San Jose directed by veteran local dramatist Lee Chun-chow.
International Arts Carnival
The six-week International Arts Carnival presented by the LCSD, held in July and August, was an event for the entire family. To celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the
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