SOME will face the millennium with new spirit - while others will face it only with a glass of spirits. Either way, with 26 days to go, many of Hong Kong's movers and shakers have their plans laid for December 31. While the Grand Hyatt's function at $4,500 per head may be the most expensive, the most sought-after may be a private box at Happy Valley for the Millennium Races. However, not everyone wants to whoop it up with thousands of strangers. Here is where the famous and the not-so-famous will be at the big moment, in no particular order: Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa is still unsure which functions he will attend. 'It's a little early to say where he will be that evening,' says Ella Tam Law Nam-wah, Mr Tung's Deputy Information Co-ordinator. 'He has been really busy and hasn't had time to think about this. It is possible that he may attend more than one celebration.' Chief Secretary for Administration Anson Chan Fang On-sang and Financial Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen will, according to their press secretary Linda So, be present at a public celebration but it is not clear at this stage which one each will attend. 'There will be so many celebrations organised by the Government that evening, although the major one will be at the Happy Valley racecourse,' Ms So says. 'The Chief Executive will be responsible for doing the assignments.' Savio Chow Sing-nam, Asian managing director for Internet firm Yahoo!, will be in a chateau in France. 'It is vacation time for me and my family and this friend of mine has a chateau and is a great chef. We went there two years ago - it's great.' Mr Chow says he is 'pretty optimistic' that there will be few Y2K computer problems, but adds: 'If this problem is going to happen then it might as well happen to you in a nice environment.' Guy Le Claire, professional guitarist, will be strumming with his jazz quartet at the Conrad International hotel. 'I finish at one o'clock and have a hotel room to retire to. We'll go up to the room and crack open a bottle of champagne.' Hari Harilela, businessman, will spend the first part of the evening with his extensive family. Mr Harilela is a Hindu, a faith that uses its own calendar, but he says he will still celebrate. 'We have lived our whole lives here. The millennium is for the world. There will be a little prayer for the millennium to the almighty God.' After the family celebration, he will go to Happy Valley for the millennium horse-racing. Emily Lau Wai-hing, Frontier legislator, will be at the 'Democracy and Rights 2000' countdown organised by the party in Chater Road. 'I don't normally spend New Year's Eves in Hong Kong,' Ms Lau says, 'but this is a special year.' A bazaar will be held in the afternoon in Chater Road. The countdown will start at about 8pm. Lee Cheuk-yan, Frontier legislator, also plans to be fighting the constant fight at the countdown in Chater Road. 'The most important change in the 19th century has been democracy,' Mr Lee says. 'We hope democracy will continue into the new millennium and that more democratic changes will be introduced in Hong Kong.' Gary Ahuja, newly elected District Council member for Tsim Sha Tsui, was thinking of having a holiday in India with his wife and three children - but has had some bad news. 'I was rung up and told that because the council comes into existence on January 1, we should have a meeting to elect a chairman and vice-chairman. So I have not yet made up my mind.' Dr Cyril Chow Chi-kin, president of management consultancy ACA Consulting, will attend a camp organised by the Scout Association of Hong Kong in the afternoon and spend the night with his family. 'I've turned down all party invitations for that evening because I want to spend time with my family. We haven't decided on where we are going for the countdown, though.' He also has other plans in mind. 'I really want to tell my children about how I used to do things when I was their age, which is something I don't normally do. And I also hope to write a diary about how I feel that night so that I can read it 10 or 20 years later.' William Mark Yiu-tong, chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurant Owners, has changed his mind a few times about how he is going to celebrate. 'It is not easy to settle on a definite plan when all my friends have different ideas. The ideal, of course, would be to spend the evening with both my family and good friends.' He says the dawning of the new millennium means a lot to him. 'It's like saying goodbye to the past 1,000 years and welcoming the next 1,000.' Robert Wong, chairman of Samaritans Befrienders Hong Kong, expects to see five or six colleagues on duty on New Year's Eve. 'We tend to get more phone calls on public holidays like Christmas and New Year,' Mr Wong says. 'One of the reasons is that people don't normally have time to call on working days; the other is that it's easier for some people to feel sad and lonely during festive seasons, when everyone else is celebrating.' Christine Loh Kung-wai, Citizens Party chairman, says she does not have any plans 'though it's very likely that I'll go to bed early'. She says she spends most of her New Year's Eves at home. 'Ever since I was in my 20s, I haven't been to any New Year's Eve parties. There are times when I go out and dine with my friends - there is never a shortage of company - but most of the time I have dinner at home. New Year's Eve is just another day to me,' she says. Mervyn Davies, group executive director and Hong Kong chief executive, Standard Chartered Bank, will be in Hong Kong on New Year's Eve. 'On that evening, I will be at work and I will join my family later on to celebrate the new millennium but I will be carrying my satellite phone, just in case.' Abdul Sukur, trustee of the Incorporated Trustees of the Islamic Community Fund of Hong Kong, says no public celebrations have been planned for the Islamic community. 'Muslims don't celebrate the new year because we follow our own calendar,' he says. 'Ramadan [the fasting period] starts on December 9 this year and continues until January 8, which is the first day of our new year.' Martin Brown, head of operations at the MTR, will be spending most of the day at work. 'I will get up at 6.30 in the morning as usual, and leave home about seven for work. I expect to finish work at about one in the morning and celebrate with my wife and some friends. 'It will be a normal working day for us at the MTR, although we will have about 300 additional staff working overnight.' Jonathan Cannon, executive director of the Jewish Carmel School in Mid-Levels, will take his wife and two children to a friend's house for a traditional Sabbath dinner - since sundown on a Friday marks the start of the Sabbath - perhaps with a little extra celebration. 'There is a Christian religious angle to the millennium, which we will not participate in. But there is a whole cultural angle of celebration and looking back on 1,000 years, which we will watch and participate in.' Michael DeGolyer, Baptist University academic, is not sure - but is pondering something simple. 'We live in a country park, and it's only one kilometre up to Sha Tin Pass where there's a great panorama of Hong Kong and Kowloon. Maybe we'll just walk up there, take a bottle of wine and toast Hong Kong.' Albert Cheng King-hon, broadcaster, will be celebrating with his family and good friends. 'I think Hong Kong is the safest place to be as we don't rely as heavily on computers as some other countries, and there are no terrorists, too.' He says going on a trip abroad is definitely not on his agenda. Leung Fu-wah, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Federation of Unions, says according to union tradition, they do not organise activities for their members on New Year's Eve. But he will attend the celebration at the Happy Valley racecourse on behalf of the federation. 'I guess the millennium means a lot more to the youngsters than to middle-aged people like myself.' Dong Tao, senior regional economist at Credit Suisse First Boston, is planning to spend time with some close friends in Hong Kong. 'I understand why people want to celebrate, but it's just another year to me. I do hope it will bring prosperity and peace.' He also says he will not do any travelling after December 15. 'I think most aircraft are safe and prepared, but there are still risks involved, for example, with the luggage. If I don't have to travel, I don't see any point to fly around. And I've been travelling too much and I would like to take a rest.' Andrew Wong Wang-fat, legislator, says his wife has made plans to attend a New Year's Eve party but 'I can't remember where that is'. Mr Wong, who usually spends New Year's Eve celebrating with friends, says this is going to be a special one for him. 'I am retiring from the Chinese University soon, so I will be celebrating the dawn of the millennium as a retired professor . . . although I may remain an honorary professor at the university.' Mathias Woo Yun-wai, member of Zuni Icosahedron, will be working on a performance called Four Grand Inventions at the City Hall Concert Hall, which starts at 8pm. After that he may have a get-together with friends. 'The countdown doesn't mean much to me,' he says. 'And the millennial celebrations organised by the Government, like horse-racing and fireworks, are not stimulating and diversified enough. They seem really mediocre.' Mak Yin-ting, chairman of Hong Kong Journalists Association, has no plans but is prepared to spend the day in the office. 'As a journalist, I'm prepared to go to work on that day,' she says. Martin Lee Chu-ming, Democratic Party chairman, has not decided what he is going to do. 'I normally go to an evening mass with my family on Christmas Eve, but not on New Year's Eve,' Mr Lee says. 'But it's the turn of the century this time and I know there is going to be a midnight mass at the Catholic Cathedral . . . I would have to ask my wife and my son where they'd like to go.' Harvey Stockwin, journalist and broadcaster, will certainly not be found at the $4,500-per-head ball at the Grand Hyatt. 'I shall be resisting all forms of hype that this is the end of the century and millennium, which it is not. 'It is the end of the penultimate year of the 20th century.' He will be celebrating 'just another new year', he says. Additional reporting by Gren Manuel