That's show business

IF THE Canto-pop scene is marked by anything - besides soppy lyrics and names like Leon, Andy, Jacky and Aaron - it is the extraordinary number of concerts that are held at the Hong Kong Coliseum.

And, for most of the territory's pop fans, it has always been an incredible hassle to knock on the backdoor, trying to get friends of friends of friends to inveigle a few good seats for the shows.

But if they think that is frustrating, they should just put themselves in the shoes of the concert promoters who not only have to keep ticket buyers happy, but also have to make sure the artists are satisfied, the shows run without a hitch and make a few bucks as well. The three-hour long concerts that Canto-pop audiences see - if they manage to get tickets - are the culmination of months of careful planning and intensive preparation.

Florence Chan Suk-fun is president of Fun Entertainment Limited, the promoters for Jacky Cheung's marathon concert series which began this weekend. And while the company may still be a new name in town, Chan is certainly no new kid on the block.

With almost two decades of experience in the entertainment business - including several years as Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing's manager - Chan has organised more concerts than she can remember.

Chan showed me into her office with a hoarse greeting - a sign of the amount of talking she has been doing in the weeks leading up to the start of Jacky Cheung Hok-yau's 34-show run at the Hong Kong Coliseum.

The past week has been a course of last-minute meetings to make sure venue problems were solved, the stage plans were all right before work started on the set and everything that required a permit had one.