Arts festival seeks funds for 'world-class' event next year
Having increased attendance to 95 per cent this year, organisers hope for renewal of government subsidy
Organisers of the Hong Kong Arts Festival, which ended last weekend, are already planning next year's event - and hope for continued government support to produce "a world-class festival".
With the curtain having barely fallen on nearly five weeks of performances, festival executive director Tisa Ho said: “We are now at the end of the current five-year funding cycle, with government subvention at less than 30 per cent. Going forward, I hope we will be supported with the necessary resources to continue producing a world-class festival in and for Hong Kong.”
Attendance at this year's festival events averaged 95 per cent - 1 per cent higher than in 2014 - with 106,000 of the 112,000 tickets available for the 137 performances sold.
Among the headline acts this year were the Bolshoi Ballet, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Gustavo Dudamel, and 10-time Grammy winner Bobby McFerrin.
Acts that arts lovers can look forward to next year include a staging of Verdi’s Requiem by the Teatro Regio Torino, Staatsballett Berlin’s production of Nacho Duato’s The Sleeping Beauty, and the Beijing-based Jingju Theatre Company's production The Artistry of Zhang Junqiu.
