Kai Tak Sports Park, Hong Kong’s new multi-purpose sports and entertainment complex, is officially open after 33,600 people attended a celebratory event at Kai Tak Stadium on Saturday.
The 50,000-capacity Kai Tak Stadium, which has been designed by Populous, will serve as the anchor venue of a complex that also includes the 10,000-capacity Kai Tak Arena and the 5,000-capacity Youth Sports Ground. All tickets that were made available for Saturday’s opening ceremony were snapped up, with the first batch of 8,500 selling out within 35 minutes.
Saturday’s event served as a celebration of local and mainland China sports, culture, film, television and music. Performances centred around four main themes, commencing with energetic drumbeats and dynamic dances, followed by dragon and lion dances entering Kai Tak Stadium from all directions. Celebrities and athletes then combined sports and music for a show centred around struggles and dreams. The national sports of China, including badminton and tennis, were then celebrated, before a grand finale featuring a choral performance.
On 16 March, the complex will host the Kai Tak Run, before the Hong Kong Sevens event heads to Kai Tak Stadium on 28-30 March. Other events scheduled for this year include Coldplay concerts and China’s National Games.
John Sharkey, Chief Executive of Kai Tak Sports Park, said: “With the completion and opening of Kai Tak Sports Park, Hong Kong is now better positioned to actively attract large-scale international events, drawing more visitors and investments and injecting new vitality into the development of the sports and performing arts culture industries. We will make full use of the Park’s advanced sports facilities, which meet international standards, to assist the Hong Kong Government in realising its vision of an international sports platform. This will help develop the sports industry’s home court economy and welcome entertainment events to shine on the international stage at Kai Tak.”
