‘Night Vibes Hong Kong’ carnival on Wan Chai waterfront to close for National Day fireworks show
- Carnival, which is part of government’s ‘Night Vibes Hong Kong’ campaign, to close between 5pm and 10.30pm on Sunday along Wan Chai promenade
- Police to set up viewing areas on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon for those hoping to catch the pyrotechnics display at 9pm
A main attraction under the government’s “Night Vibes Hong Kong” campaign will be briefly suspended on National Day along the Wan Chai promenade, as authorities prepare for the return of the holiday fireworks show this weekend.
The carnival along the waterfront, which launched on Wednesday, was set to close between 5pm and 10.30pm on Sunday, the Development Bureau said after consulting police.
“Taking into account the fireworks show at Victoria Harbour and the related crowd control arrangements, the co-organisers last week notified the shop tenants that the opening hours for the carnival on October 1 had to be shortened to 10am to 4pm,” the bureau wrote in a social media post on Thursday.
“After further assessing the situation, police consider that the opening hours arrangement can be handled with leniency.”
11 Hong Kong restaurants and bars from which to see National Day fireworks
The carnival will continue to admit visitors on Sunday until 4pm, but patrons will need to leave within the hour. The attraction will reopen at 10.30pm after the fireworks show and close up by 2am at the latest, with authorities to release further details online.
Organisers of the fireworks show are set to light the fuses at 9pm on Sunday for the display expected to last for 23 minutes. The event is making a comeback after a five-year hiatus, when it was cancelled amid a period of social unrest and the Covid-19 pandemic.
The pyrotechnics will be set up on three barges and six pontoons positioned 350 metres (1,148 feet) from the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai. Music will be broadcast from both sides of the harbour.
Revellers can also watch the display from vantage points in areas such as Tsim Sha Tsui, Mid-Levels, Central, Causeway Bay and the Hung Hom Bypass.
Police on Thursday said there were 18 prime locations to take in the show, such as Central piers No 2 to 6 and No 9 to 10, Tamar Park in Admiralty and Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai.
Other areas open to the public included the Temporary Promenade and Exhibition Centre Station in Wan Chai’s western quarter, Victoria Park Road and the East Coast Park Precinct, which spans from Causeway Bay to North Point.
On the Kowloon side, spectators can watch from the Star Ferry Pier, near the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and along Star Avenue.
Free MTR rides, half-price film tickets among Hong Kong’s National Day offers
The show will also be visible from the West Kowloon Cultural District, while police will cordon off Canton Road, Chatham Road South and Tsim Sha Tsui Waterfront Park as viewing areas.
The force said it would start blocking off busy roads on the Kowloon side from 7.00pm on Sunday, before setting up cordons in Wan Chai, Central and The Peak 30 minutes later.
Police also planned to prohibit parking in zones in Kowloon from 3pm on Sunday to 3am the next day. Any vehicles that violated the policy will be removed without warning.
