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Can Hong Kong ‘mega’ arts event HKPAX 2026 meet targets in tough economic times?

Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo’s co-director Anne Chan talks about slashed entry fees and fresh acts ahead of October’s HK$40 million event

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Colombian dance company Sankofa Danzafro will bring their piece “The City of Others” to Hong Kong’s Tai Kwun heritage arts centre as part of the Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo 2026. The expo’s new co-director, Anne Chan, explains how it aims to attract visitors, including international delegates, and achieve the same success as the inaugural biennale event in 2024. Photo: Instagram/sankofadanzafro
Enid Tsui

Hong Kong’s Performing Arts Expo (HKPAX), a HK$40 million (US$5 million) event scheduled for October 2026 to boost the city’s international image as a cultural centre, has cut ticket prices and diversified its programming to attract attendance during a tough global economic climate, its new leadership says.

Launched by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (ADC) in 2024, the biennial five-day event aims to match the delegate numbers from two years ago without increasing the amount it pays on inviting guests and covering their expenses.

“It is industry practice to invite some guests,” says Anne Chan, co-director of HKPAX and ADC’s arts space, research and development director. “Last time, we covered the flight and hotel expenses of 5 per cent of the 1,600 delegates, and the ratio is likely to remain the same this time.”

Funded by Hong Kong’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB), the event’s HK$40 million budget is slightly less than the HK$42 million in 2024.
HKPAX co-director Anne Chan says this year’s event is likely to cover a similar ratio of invited delegates’ expenses as in 2024. Photo: courtesy of Hong Kong Arts Development Council
HKPAX co-director Anne Chan says this year’s event is likely to cover a similar ratio of invited delegates’ expenses as in 2024. Photo: courtesy of Hong Kong Arts Development Council
Though listed as a “mega-event” on the CSTB website, HKPAX does not receive additional funding from the Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund, which the city launched in April 2023 to support and attract large-scale international arts and cultural events.
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