Hong Kong man may become Cheung Chau Bun Festival champ for third year running in ‘King of Kings’ title bid
- Jason Kwok will be crowned ‘King of Kings’ if he can win bun scrambling competition at Sunday’s event
- Twelve finalists – nine men and three women – will compete in events
This year’s bun scrambling competition in Cheung Chau may see the rise of a “King of Kings” if defending champion Jason Kwok Ka-ming can be the first man to win for the third time since the title was created.
A total of 208 submitted applications for the event, a five-year high. There were 195 applicants last year.
Twelve finalists – nine men and three women – have been shortlisted to compete for the titles of King and Queen of the Buns in the event to be held on Sunday on the outlying island.
“Mr Kwok, who is the winner of the past two bun scrambling competitions, has a great chance to be awarded the King of Kings if he wins this year’s competition,” said Fanny Ho Sau-fan, chief leisure manager of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
Organisers came up with the “King of Kings” and “Queen of Queens” titles in 2016, for climbers who secured the championship three times in the men’s or women’s category.
No one has won either titles so far.
None of the finalists in the women’s category has been champion more than once so they will not be able to win the Queen of Queens title this year, according to Eric Ho Lai-on, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Cheung Chau Bun Festival Committee.
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Climber Angel Wong Ka-yan, a five-time champion in the women’s category, never made it to the finals after a lacklustre performance in the qualifiers last month.
Kwok won the bun scramble eight times in total.
The contest, a highlight of the Bun Festival, is a traditional Taoist event dating back to the late Qing dynasty. It is held annually to honour the God of the Sea.
The competition has its roots in a ritual started in 1894 to appease the spirits of islanders killed in a plague and was revived in 2005. The event had been banned for 27 years after two bun towers collapsed mid-race in 1978, injuring 24 people.
Thousands are expected to flock to the island for the festival, which includes a piu sik, or “floating colour”, parade in the afternoon. During the parade, children dress up as famous city figures and are carried down the island’s main street on stools.
Free admission tickets for the bun scramble will be distributed outside Cheung Chau fire station on Sunday at 10pm on a first come, first-served basis.
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The department expects 2,000 spectators at the competition on Sunday night. The opening ceremony commences at 11.30pm and the contest begins at midnight.
Some 9,000 plastic buns will cover the 14-metre-high bamboo tower. Buns earn the competitors points, with those nearest the top scoring highest.
The climber with the highest score within the three-minute time limit wins.
The Transport Department expects 60,000 people to travel to the island, up from the estimated 55,000 the previous year.
