An hour before the performance started at 9pm, fans started to gather from different corners of the site. The audience stretched from the stage almost to the exit several hundred metres away.

Kiona Thompson, a woman in her 20s, got into the festival at around 8pm , excited to see the Arctic Monkeys after a long wait in a queue.

“Everyone is coming here for Arctic Monkeys, so even though I don’t know them well, there must be something good, right?” she said.

Excited concertgoers began gathering outside the event area an hour before its 6pm launch. Many were queuing at 8.30pm for entry to the show, expected to end at 10.30pm.

Ofria Elram, 44, who came to the festival with her husband and their two children, arrived at Central Ferry Pier at 7.45pm, but queued for more than 30 minutes to enter the concert arena.

“[I felt] sad … we missed some performances,” she said.

Elram, who went to her first Clockenflap four years ago, said it was an unusually long line compared to her previous experience.

Among the early birds was 25-year-old Lin Yuzhou, who travelled from Shanghai to Hong Kong on Friday to see the show. She said she had spent 1,400 yuan (US$202) on a three-day ticket but online mainland vendors were now charging up to 5,000 yuan.

“I am obsessed with the music festival. This year Clockenflap invited some really big names that I love, such as Arctic Monkeys, Phoenix and Wu-Tang Clan … I once dreamed that I attended an Arctic Monkey’s tour, and now it has finally come true,” she said.

The trip also marked her first time in Hong Kong, with the accountant saying she and her boyfriend would seize the opportunity to explore the city. “I will try some Hong Kong-style food and go sightseeing,” she said.

About 100 acts will grace Clockenflap’s stages over three days, including French synth-rockers Phoenix and Norwegian folk-pop duo Kings of Convenience, as well as American hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan.

Everything you need to know about Clockenflap 2023 festival in Hong Kong

Regional and local favourites such as Japanese dance-pop sensation CHAI and Hong Kong Canto-rock group KOLOR will also join the event’s eclectic musical mix, alongside Swedish indie-pop superstars The Cardigans, American singer-songwriter Sasha Alex Sloan and Britain’s Black Country, New Road and Bombay Bicycle Club.

Mike Hill, the festival’s managing director, said: “We were not able to hold the event for four years, and this is the first time ever that our tickets have been sold out, which is amazing.

“We’ve got an amazing audience coming and we don’t need to wear a mask this time.”

Taitat Chan-u, a 22-year-old university student from Thailand, came to Hong Kong for the first time just to attend the festival.

“I am really excited about the music festival, especially for Arctic Monkeys, the band that I love. Even though there are a lot of music festivals in Thailand, this one in Hong Kong is still worth coming to,” said Chan-u, who will spend six days in the city.

“I feel Hong Kong is now basically like Bangkok, people can choose to wear a mask or not, and the restrictions related to Covid-19 are basically invisible.”

Hongkonger Jamie Lai, who waited outside half an hour before the show, said: “I am a huge fan of outdoor concerts, and I have always wanted to join Clockenflap, but when I finally hit 18, Covid-19 came and basically everything was shut down. So it is a great thing that I can finally get my happiness back.”

Arctic Monkeys to headline Hong Kong’s Clockenflap festival in March 2023

Dee Eadon, a 49-year-old expat who has lived in Hong Kong for 12 years, also said she was thrilled to see people gathering and celebrating once again.

“The mask mandate is the outcome of such restrictive measures to handle Covid-19. I totally understand … Now, I’m super excited because I can walk freely and move around,” she said. “I feel really good about Hong Kong.”

Additional reporting by Sammy Heung