FEARS are growing that poor weather could force the cancellation of the Lunar New Year fireworks extravaganza over Victoria Harbour on Friday night.
Technicians and safety experts flown in from the United States are already hard at work wiring more than 12,000 ''bomb shells'' and explosives to centralised computer systems in preparation for what is being billed as the largest fireworks display in theworld.
But if the Royal Observatory proves correct in its weather forecast, the whole thing may turn out to be a damp squib.
''Cloudy and humid with some light rain,'' is the bleak outlook predicted for the Lunar New Year holiday.
The display, sponsored by the Bank of China, is costing more than $4 million, and will feature fireworks from 10 countries, including China and Japan.
The bank is using the event to publicise the release of new Hong Kong banknotes next May. Flowers that will appear on the banknotes, such as the bauhinia and lotus, will blossom across the sky in a section entitled ''a floral celebration''.