Iconic Star Ferry gets hairy in honour of Movember charity campaign
Bewhiskered boat marks start of month-long campaign to raise awareness of prostate cancer
All aboard the Star Hairy: Hong Kong's cross-harbour ferry service is sprouting a new look for November.
In support of Movember, the annual month-long campaign where men grow and groom moustaches to raise awareness of prostate cancer, Star Ferry has given one of its vessels a fuzzy facelift.
Two black moustache stickers, each a metre and a half wide, were yesterday stuck onto the bow and stern of Solar Star, one of Star Ferry's nine-strong fleet that shuttle across Victoria Harbour.
"We think the idea of Movember is very meaningful, but few people in Hong Kong know about it, so we hope to help in some way," says Pally Tsang Ka-yam, Star Ferry's operations executive.
In addition to the unshaven boat, Movember informational posters will be placed at all three Star Ferry piers at Wan Chai, Central and Tsim Sha Tsui, says Tsang. The Star Ferry website will also carry information on the campaign.
Movember started 11 years ago in a Melbourne bar, sparked by a joke about wanting to bring the moustache back into fashion. Thirty "Mo Bros" participated that year, raising money to grow their moustaches, and prostate cancer was chosen as the cause.
The campaign has since exploded worldwide. Last year, 1.13 million participants across 21 countries raised a total of A$141.5 million (HK$1.04 billion), a 14 per cent increase in funds raised from the previous year.
