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Lo Hoi-ying

Athletes and entertainment stars from both Hong Kong and mainland China will take part in a ceremony next month to celebrate the opening of Kai Tak Sports Park.
Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok-ki said on Tuesday that the park’s main stadium would host the “grand” ceremony on the evening of March 1, the official opening date.
The city’s No 2 official also addressed the busy Lunar New Year holiday and said Hong Kong had been bustling with visitors, as January recorded the highest monthly number of tourists in the post-pandemic period.
He hailed the coming ceremony marking the sports hub’s opening as a major achievement for the city.
“The official opening of Kai Tak Sports Park will be a historic moment for Hong Kong,” Chan said before the weekly meeting of the Executive Council, the city’s key decision-making body.
“There will be representatives from the sports and cultural sectors from the mainland and Hong Kong.”
Chan said performances at the ceremony would interpret the history and transformation of Kai Tak and include athletes and singers from across generations.
He added that the 1½-hour event would be streamed later in the evening on four television channels, while state broadcaster CCTV would also play parts of the ceremony on its media platforms.
Authorities have carried out more than 15 stress tests at the park in recent months, including one involving 63,000 people using the site’s three venues simultaneously and another with 50,000 spectators attending a football match.
Results from the test runs were satisfactory, Chan said, adding that another event involving 63,000 people would take place in the coming weeks.
“I am confident that the park will be ready to operate on March 1,” he said.
“Preparations for the opening ceremony such as stage design, venue entry and exit, and seating plans are being carried out in full swing for an exciting performance.
“Friends from Hong Kong, the mainland and around the world can celebrate the park’s grand opening together, be it in person, on television or online.”


Lawmaker Adrian Pedro Ho King-hong said he had both a high level of confidence in the park and expectations for it.
“The park will be a very big boost for Hong Kong’s tourism sector, as it’s one of the newest and largest venues in the world for sports and entertainment,” he said.
“It will be one of the best choices for mega-events and I expect these frequent events will boost tourism in Hong Kong.”
Ho said that having experienced two trial runs, he had observed the park had high-quality hardware and that the time taken for the crowd to disperse was comparable with that of other world-class venues.
However, he noted that test event participants were civil servants and members of community groups.
“In the future, if we welcome tourists or people from different parts of the world, maybe they will be less well-behaved,” he said. “But the park has sufficient manpower and signage for crowd control so I am not too concerned.”
Chan, meanwhile, said the city had enjoyed a vibrant Lunar New Year holiday.
“Entering 2025, the performance of Hong Kong’s tourism sector has been encouraging,” he said.
“Representatives from the catering industry also said they were satisfied with business levels and saw improvements from last year.”
About 1.4 million people visited Hong Kong during the “golden week” break, which ran from January 28 to February 4 on the mainland.
Most of the visitors, or about 85 per cent, were from the mainland.
The number of arrivals in January reached 4.74 million, a 25 per cent increase from the same month last year. Mainland visitors accounted for 3.73 million of the tally.
“January broke the records for the highest number of tourists and mainland visitors to Hong Kong since the pandemic,” Chan said.
More than 90 per cent of hotels were fully booked during the eight-day break, with 2,200 inbound mainland tour groups also arriving.
Chan said on the third day of Lunar New Year 440 tour groups visited the city, a record for a single day.
Nearly 10,000 tourists went to the Chinese New Year Raceday at the Jockey Club’s Sha Tin Racecourse, also a record, he said.
Hong Kong’s No 2 official cited a Tourism Board study that found 94 per cent of visitors would return to the city and recommended it as a tourist destination to others.
“This proves that Hong Kong is very attractive to tourists,” he said.


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Hong Kong society

Hong Kong, mainland stars to perform at ‘historic’ Kai Tak Sports Park opening

Authorities have been conducting stress tests at Kai Tak Sports Park ahead of its March 1 opening. Photo: Eugene Lee

Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Stadium to officially open on March 1

Kai Tak Stadium has a retractable roof. Photo: Eugene Lee

A crowd of 50,000 watched the football match on Tuesday night. Photo: Elson Li

Spectators have their bags checked at the stadium. Photo: Elson Li

A fire simulation was also held in the stadium. Photo: Elson Li

In one drill, first responders treated an “injured” man and put him on a stretcher. Photo: Elson Li

Kitchee played North district in an under-22 league match. Photo: Elson Li

Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Stadium to hold first open-roof event drill on Tuesday

Tuesday’s event at Kai Tak Stadium will also test the area’s public transport capacity. Photo: Nora Tam

Officials behind the test drills have stressed the long-terms benefits of the sports park’s smooth operation. Photo: Sam Tsang

Hong Kong football fans gather to see Rivaldo, Kaka and others for legends match

Brazilian football star Kaka signs autographs for fans before the friendly match. Photo: Eugene Lee

Fans wearing Belgium national team jerseys with the number 10 of now-retired Eden Hazard. Photo: Elson Li

News

Hong Kong

Society

Athletes and singers from across generations will feature in ‘grand’ March 1 ceremony, No 2 official Eric Chan says


Athletes and singers from across generations will feature in ‘grand’ March 1 ceremony, No 2 official Eric Chan says.


Kai Tak Sports Park

Hong Kong tourism

Lunar New Year