Thank you, President. With its unique geographical location and cultural diversity, Hong Kong has always been an international tourist city. With the deterioration of the geopolitical environment in recent years and the drastic change in the consumption patterns of both domestic and overseas travellers, there is an urgent need for institutional reform if Hong Kong is to become an events capital. The original motion proposed by Mr Kenneth FOK and the amendments proposed by other colleagues are rich in content and contain many insightful views, which are worthy of support. I will not repeat them here; rather, I will focus on reviewing the use of venues for mega events and how to optimize it.
Opened in 1983, the Hong Kong Coliseum (“Coliseum”) is a multi-purpose venue with a maximum capacity of 12 500 people. Since its opening, the Coliseum has hosted a wide range of major local and international events and concerts in addition to sports events and has become the most iconic performance venue for Hong Kong pop music. The Coliseum and its facilities were originally designed for hosting sports events, but as it was not possible to break even on sports events alone, the Coliseum was later opened up to host other events such as concerts.
The Coliseum has been in use for 41 years. After the completion of the Kai Tak Sports Park (“KTSP”), mega sports events will mainly be held there. I suggest that the Government should consider enhancing and upgrading the facilities of the Coliseum to make it a venue specialized in staging concerts. The design of the Galaxy Macau is worthy of reference. The venue has 16 000 seats as well as boxes for VIP (very important persons), and those who have attended shows there have praised its excellent acoustics. Some say that although the Coliseum’s facilities are outdated, its prime location and convenient transport links have enabled it to host countless concerts over the years. The history of the many musical events that have taken place there and the youthful memories it represents make it irreplaceable in the heart of countless music fans. Therefore, it is necessary for the Government to preserve the uniqueness and advantages of the Coliseum.
Although major maintenance works have been carried out at the Coliseum on several occasions, the add-on facilities are still outdated and do not meet the industry’s needs. The Government should listen carefully to the views of the industry and the audience, such as adopting international standards for performance venues, upgrading the sound and lighting systems, improving the comfort of the venue, bringing the audience closer to the performers, and enhancing the overall audience experience, so that the public will be eager to visit for the fresh experience. This will surely attract more overseas singers to come and stage concerts in Hong Kong and thus boost the mega-event economy.
Many venues in Hong Kong have been in use for many years. In order to develop Hong Kong into an events capital, we need to keep their facilities up to date. The Queen Elizabeth Stadium opened in 1980 has been in use for over 40 years. The venue is relatively small, with only 3 500 seats, and its facilities are ageing. Therefore, an overhaul is necessary to adapt to modern needs and the infrastructure should be upgraded to enhance the experience of spectators and performers. In this way, venues of different sizes can be provided to meet different needs. The Hong Kong Stadium also carries the good memories of many events. I suggest that after the completion of KTSP, apart from opening the Hong Kong Stadium for public use, it should also be preserved as an alternative venue for hosting major events on the Hong Kong Island side.
KTSP will consist of three major venues and other sports facilities, the venues being the 50 000-seat Kai Tak Main Stadium, the 10 000-seat Kai Tak Arena, and the 5 000-seat Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground. Although the facilities of the venues are new, in order to provide a pleasant experience for spectators, we still need to enhance the ancillary supporting facilities, such as ensuring that public transport connections can divert the crowds within a short period of time; upgrading the service facilities at the venues such as food and beverage, restrooms and seating areas; expanding the multi-functionality of the venues and stepping up publicity, to attract more major international events to be held in Hong Kong and maintain high utilization of the venues.
I so submit.