ENG-2014 — Page 373

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Recreation, Sport, Culture and the Arts

Hong Kong Flower Show

The Hong Kong Flower Show provides an opportunity every year for hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong people and horticulture lovers from around the world to enjoy the beauty and diversity of flowers and to share their experiences in flower cultivation. A total of 217 horticultural organisations from 15 countries took part in the show in March 2014 at Victoria Park, attracting over 550,000 visitors.

Recreation and Sports Venues Hong Kong Stadium

The Hong Kong Stadium is Hong Kong's largest outdoor sports venue, with seating for 40,000 people. It is mainly used for football and international rugby matches and large-scale community events. More than 237,600 people attended 22 events in the stadium in 2014, including the popular annual rugby sevens tournament, and international football matches between Kitchee and Paris Saint-German and Hong Kong and Argentina.

Mong Kok Stadium

The Mong Kok Stadium has a seating capacity of 6,668 and is an important venue for sporting and community events. It is one of the major venues for the Hong Kong Premier League and the training ground for the national squad. More than 280,000 people attended the 83 events at the stadium in 2014, including the Asian Football Confederation Cup, the LFP World Challenge Asian Tour and an international friendly match between Hong Kong and Singapore.

Water Sports Centres and Holiday Camps

The LCSD manages five water sports centres: Chong Hing, Tai Mei Tuk, Jockey Club Wong Shek, St Stephen's Beach and Stanley Main Beach. It also runs four holiday camps, the Lady MacLehose Holiday Village, Sai Kung Outdoor Recreation Centre, Tso Kung Tam Outdoor Recreation Centre, and Lei Yue Mun Park and Holiday Village. In 2014, about 123,000 people participated in events at the water sports centres and 508,858 visited or stayed at the holiday camps.

Other Recreation and Sports Venues

The LCSD manages 95 sports centres, 43 swimming pool complexes, 256 tennis courts, 295 squash courts, 25 sports grounds, four golf-driving ranges and two public riding schools. Works for six other major projects across Hong Kong are under way.

Beaches and Swimming Pools

Swimming is one of Hong Kong's most popular summer pastimes. The LCSD manages 41 gazetted public beaches (12 on Hong Kong Island and 29 in the New Territories) and 43 public swimming pool complexes. In 2014, some 12.15 million people used the public beaches and 12.92 million visited public swimming pools.

With the improvement in water quality in the western part of the Victoria Harbour following the commissioning of the Advance Disinfection Facilities of the Habour Treatment Scheme Stage 2A in March 2010, the LCSD has reopened all seven beaches in Tsuen Wan.

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