In Paris they dress up in costumes, hurl streamers, pop balloons and drink a lot.

The Urban Council was initially a bit nervous about such japes here, but after last year's successful and safe event at City Hall they have allowed organisers to move to the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, where tonight and tomorrow, there will be five hours of non-stop commercials to yell along to and most of all, just enjoy.

Most of them will be from Asia, but with a sprinkling of classics from the West.

The fun begins at 6pm tonight, and 5.30pm tomorrow.

Expressionist in the abstract One of the few living Chinese oil painters to gain any kind of international reputation, some would say the only one, is the abstract expressionist Zao Wou-ki.

The Beijing-born painter has paintings in the Guggenheim in New York, the Tate Gallery in London, the Fine Arts Institute in Beijing, and many many pieces in prominent collections in France, which he now considers his home.

It is the French consulate general that is bringing 80 of his works to show at the Hong Kong Museum of Art from tomorrow until July.

In France, of course they still take culture very seriously (what other consulate, after all, would, or even could, organise a regular month-long exhibition of their cultural achievements?).

As a result they attract creative people from all over the world, and France returns the compliment by accepting them as their own.

The past three Le French May exhibitions have been proof of that.

In 1994, they organised a show of work by Russian-born Marc Chagall, last year they brought us the work of Balthus, whose real name, Balthasar Klossowski, reflected his Polish roots, and this year they bring us Zao.

Genuine official fakes on display The name Le Musee Imaginaire conjures up all kinds of expectations, a museum of illusion perhaps, or a collection of magician's tricks revealed, Penn and Teller style.

In fact Le Musee is nothing more or less than a lot of 'legal reproductions' - that's official fakes to us laymen, including works by impressionist money spinners like Monet, Van Gogh, Gauguin and Matisse.

Previous satisfied customers apparently include such well-known connoisseurs as Sophia Loren, Frank Sinatra and Elizabeth Taylor, which gives you some idea of the kind of people who think if you cannot get the genuine article, an original lookalike is the next best thing to add to your collection.

This 'unique' opportunity to see some of the most expensive art in the world runs from May 8-12 from 12 noon to 9.30pm in the East and West Room at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

Atherton takes game to Russians No one would deny Hong Kong Philharmonic's director David Atherton his contribution to the musical education of Hong Kong, but it is a brave man indeed who takes on the Russians at their own game, or rather at their own music.

That, however is what he has done, in a tense showdown next week when the Phil and the Russian National Orchestra will both be playing the overture from Glinka's opera Russlan and Ludmilla, (that's Ruslan and Lyudmilla, according to the Russians) within a week of each other.

Atherton has sensibly gone into bat first, with a performance at Tsuen Wan Town Hall on May 11, while the Russians are hoping to get the benefit of being he who plays last, at Tuen Mun Town Hall on May 18.