Pigs and anime spies square off at Hong Kong’s International Dragon Boat Races in bid to win fancy dress contest
- Hongkongers, tourists don elaborate outfits to win fancy dress competition on final day of international event’s return to city after four-year hiatus
- Team of MTR workers clad in pink inflatable pig costumes lose out on big prizes, but win hearts of some spectators
Contestants for the final day of Hong Kong’s International Dragon Boat Races took to the waters on Sunday in an array of colourful costumes that included pigs, mahjong tiles and characters from beloved anime shows.
Hongkongers and tourists alike donned elaborate outfits for the fancy dress competition on the second leg of the two-day event organised by the city’s Tourism Board and the Hong Kong China Dragon Boat Association.
Seven teams from the city and mainland China joined the final race, which has returned to Hong Kong after a four-year hiatus because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2019 anti-government unrest.
Raymond Wong, who captained a team of staff from the MTR Corporation, rocked up to the race alongside his fellows in pink inflatable pig costumes. The 36-year-old said they chose the outfits to bring joy to the watching crowds.
“We thought a lot about different costumes, but we figured that we must catch eyeballs,” he said. “These pig costumes are very cute, we have different heart-shaped balloons and different lovely pigs here … our most important goal is for residents to happily enjoy the competition today.”
The return of the two-day event has attracted more than 4,000 contestants vying for 17 titles and coming from locations such as Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.
Wong said he and his team had been looking forward to the race’s return for several years, noting it was previously impossible for people to watch and get behind the event because of the pandemic.
