Rockit has shaken off its debut woes to emerge bigger and stronger than before
UNDETERRED BY LAST year's low turnout and financial losses, Rockit - Hong's Kong's first music festival in the vein of Fuji Rock or Glastonbury - is back this year with a bigger and better lineup.
The effects of Sars and competition from the government-sponsored Harbour Fest took the wind out of the sails of last year's two-day inaugural event, with only about 3,000 people turning up each day.
But the festival won rave reviews from music fans, and auditions to take part in this year's event have drawn so many hopeful bands that the organisers, Matrix Entertainment Group, have extended the festival by a day.
'This is a demand-driven festival,' says Rockit organiser Nimal Jayawardena. 'We are seeing it as a long-term financial investment because you can't measure the loss of an event like this in financial terms. This is something that had to happen.'
Rockit will again take over the lawn of Victoria Park to stage rock, pop and dance acts to capacity crowds of 15,000 people a day.