Half a million people could take part in Hong Kong's July 1 march, organisers say

Organisers of the July 1 march hope recent controversies will push turnout above the 500,000 of 2003, when the first large-scale handover day march was held.

The Civil Human Rights Front said it had told police it expected more than 150,000 people in Tuesday's march, up from 50,000 when it first applied for police permission. The front has increased the number of stewards in the crowd from 150 to 200.

It called on protesters to stay calm and avoid clashes.

The march starts at 3pm at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay and ends at the pedestrian area in Chater Road, Central.

Last year, organisers said 430,000 people marched, although police said 66,000 took part at its peak. An academic at the University of Hong Kong, Professor Paul Yip Siu-fai, counted numbers along the route in Wan Chai and concluded that about 103,000 people marched.

Civil Human Rights Front convenor Johnson Yeung Ching-yin said recent controversies could make a difference this year. They included the Legislative Council's debates on controversial plans to build two new towns in the northeastern New Territories, and Beijing's white paper asserting control over Hong Kong.

"We expect a lot of people in the protest, and we hope there would be more than 500,000 as in 2003," he said, referring to the huge protest that derailed national security legislation.