Opinion | Why can’t Hong Kong people enjoy live broadcast of Kai Tak stadium opening?

For all its efforts to promote Hong Kong as an events hub, the government is broadcasting its lack of confidence to deliver when it counts

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An aerial view of Kai Tak stadium on February 4, the day of its first open-roof-event drill involving a crowd of 50,000 people. Photo: Eugene Lee

Published: 9:30am, 24 Feb 2025Updated: 11:14am, 24 Feb 2025

How unfortunate that a dampener has already been put on the starry opening of Hong Kong tourism’s bright new hope, Kai Tak Sports Park.

Never mind that the government had prepared up to the hilt for the grand opening of the city’s largest sports venue. It conducted almost 20 drills over four months to ensure the facility can run like a well-oiled machine, with the cogs and gears of security screening, crowd management, transport and emergency response turning smoothly.

But when it came to the crunch, the government chickened out and decided against a live broadcast of the opening ceremony on March 1 that would allow the entire city to celebrate in real time. Instead, an edited version of the evening’s proceedings, featuring big names in entertainment and sports, will be aired on four television channels three hours later.

This is a bad miss by the government. Having expended so much effort and public money on rebranding the city as a mega-events hub, why isn’t the government seizing the perfect opportunity presented by the grand opening to create excitement across our community and kick off “Hong Kong Super March” in style?

One has to wonder whether the government really knows how to run mega-events. It is an art that goes beyond infrastructure and crowd control, and involves engaging the public and building anticipation. It calls for skills that the authorities should master, if it is serious about making Hong Kong a mega-events hub.

In explaining the delayed telecast, the government said it had considerations such as the TV stations’ broadcasting arrangements and production needs. But lawmaker Doreen Kong Yuk-foon called these reasons “not so convincing”.