Mega performance venue scrapped at long-delayed Hong Kong arts hub

The West Kowloon Cultural District has scrapped plans for a mega performance venue in the northwestern corner of the 40-hectare development and may use the land solely for exhibitions and conventions, reducing the capacity for the prime waterfront site to hold large-scale popular music and entertainment events.

The U-turn was announced by Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor on Wednesday at a press conference to confirm the appointment of Suhanya Raffel as the next director of M+, the museum of visual culture that is opening in West Kowloon in late 2019.

Raffel was previously deputy director of the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney. She replaces Lars Nittve, who stepped down in January citing frustrations with construction delays that have pushed back the opening date to two years later than originally planned. Both he and Michael Lynch, the previous chief executive of the district, have complained of frustration in dealing with bureaucracy and politics.

Lam said the Kai Tak Multi-purpose Sports Complex, for which funding was approved by lawmakers last year, could double as a performance venue.

“We will consider the fact that Hong Kong has to continue to develop its exhibition industry and so we must review how best to use this part of the West Kowloon Cultural District as an exhibition space,” she said.