Hong Kong kicks off Pop Culture Festival with 300,000 people expected to celebrate kung fu’s grip on city
- More than 20 programmes planned under theme of ‘Arts and Action’, according to secretary for culture and tourism Kevin Yeung
- ‘Hong Kong’s kung fu has fused artistic areas of cinema, literature and music, reflecting the city’s diverse and vibrant pop culture that is also revenue generating,’ he says.
Hong Kong’s Pop Culture Festival is expected to attract 300,000 people over four months, with this year’s iteration exploring the city’s rich history of classic martial arts novels and drama series, according to the organiser.
While a two-day music carnival officially kicks off the celebrations in Victoria Park in Causeway Bay on Saturday, some of the events falling under the umbrella of the festival have already started, some as early as last month.
Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said on Friday more than 20 programmes were planned under the theme of “Arts and Action”, which examined kung fu’s role in the city’s pop culture.
“Hong Kong’s kung fu has fused artistic areas of cinema, literature and music, reflecting the city’s diverse and vibrant pop culture that is also revenue generating,” he said.
“The government hopes that by shaping and promoting tourism in tandem with culture, Hong Kong’s pop culture can be appreciated by more, both at home and abroad, and a stronger sense of affinity toward Hong Kong’s culture can be built among local people.”
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department is expecting 300,000 visitors, down from the 530,000 who attended in 2023, a drop that chief manager Doreen Lau Wing-yan said was due to the festival’s shorter length this year. The festival ran from April to December last year, but this time will last from April to July. She noted most programmes were free of charge in a bid to lure more visitors.
The festival will cost HK$34 million (US$4.3 million), with the department providing HK$25 million and the rest coming from Create Hong Kong.
“We are expecting tourists to participate,” Lau said. “We have been in touch with the Tourism Board, as well as the economic and trade offices on the mainland and overseas to promote our cultural programmes through their channels.”
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Other highlights include a concert of music used in television adaptations of Cha’s novels, by lyricist James Wong Jim and composer Joseph Koo Ka-fai.
While the festival centres on Cha’s works and the spin-off creations, it also includes screenings of some classic Hong Kong martial arts films including those featuring Bruce Lee.
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Executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Association Timothy Chui Ting-pong said the government had adopted a “sensible” way to lure visitors by focusing on Cha and songs associated with his works that were mainly produced in the 1990s.
“The movies and songs that Hong Kong produced in the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s are a collective memory to many on the mainland, in Taiwan and overseas countries,” Chui said.
He pointed to his recent trips to mainland China and Taiwan during which taxi drivers expressed a strong affection for the songs.
Last month, the city launched exhibitions featuring 32 two-metre-tall (6.6 feet) sculptures of characters from his novels at Edinburgh Place in Central and the Heritage Museum in Sha Tin. Authorities expected more than 100,000 people would visit the exhibitions, titled “A Path to Glory – Jin Yong’s Centennial Memorial”. The statues will be on display until July 2.
But Maggie Kwan Man-ki, an acting student at Baptist University, said she would not go to the festival events because of the type of singers and movies the government chose to feature.
“I think the government should at least invite Hins Cheung King-hin or Panther Chan to attract the young people,” the 25-year-old said, referring to the Cantopop singers. “I would rather stay at home and watch Netflix.”
