BEDRAGGLED revellers put a brave face on a wet Lunar New Year fireworks display which some labelled a damp squib and said should have been postponed.
Despite heavy rain just before the big event, thousands lined the overpasses near the Star Ferry in Central and Tsim Sha Tsui to catch a glimpse of the 25-minute show, although vantage points were nowhere near crowded.
As the rain stopped, the fireworks did manage to break through the mist and light up the night sky, but some onlookers said the show should have been saved for a clearer night.
A disappointed Penny Chan Yee-ching said: ''I really think the display should have been rescheduled because the weather really has been very bad.
''The rain is sure to have put a lot of people off coming and I really feel that it has been a bit of a waste of money putting the show on in these conditions.'' But Annie Bentley, director of Bentley DDB Needham which took care of public relations for the display, said calling off the evening would have created a manpower nightmare.
Ms Bentley said: ''If the weather forecast had been any better for Sunday we would have delayed it, but as it happened it didn't look as if it was going to be any better and so the decision was taken to go ahead.'' Many who braved the rain made the most of it, and exclamations of delight could be heard over the crackles and booms.