Hong Kong police mount large-scale anti-terror drill ahead of Ariana Grande concert

Officers practise dealing with armed terrorists setting off explosives and slashing audience members at Hong Kong Stadium

Reading Time:3 minutes

The exercise tested officers’ preparedness for threats at such events. Photo: Felix Wong

Published: 4:15pm, 25 Aug 2017Updated: 11:24pm, 25 Aug 2017

Terrorists setting off explosives at a concert and attacking audience members with weapons were among the various scenarios faced by Hong Kong police as more than 200 officers mounted an anti-terrorism drill at Hong Kong Stadium on Friday afternoon, a month ahead of US singer Ariana Grande’s much-anticipated performance.

In May, a suicide bomber targeted the 24-year-old pop star’s UK concert in Manchester, leaving 23 dead and 250 injured.

On Wednesday, a concert by American rock band Allah-Las was called off in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, following a tip-off from Spanish authorities about a possible plot targeting the venue, following the deadly terrorist attack in Barcelona.

Hong Kong police admitted that the anti-terror exercise had been prompted by the Manchester incident but denied that there was any intelligence suggesting the coming event at AsiaWorld-Expo had been targeted for attack. This is the first time that the force has mounted such a high-profile drill ahead a large performance.

‘I am so sorry’: Ariana Grande leads online reaction to terror attack

John Tse Chun-chung, senior superintendent of the force’s public relations branch, stressed that the terrorism threat level remained “moderate”, but said police had to safeguard any international events in the city against attacks as the tactics of terrorists were unpredictable.