Tickets ‘sold out’ for Harbour Chill Carnival

The first round of 20,000 tickets for the first eight sessions of the Harbour Chill Carnival, have all been distributed, the Tourism Board announced Tuesday.

Free tickets for the five-weekend Harbour Chill Carnival - featuring Cantopop star Kelly Chen Wai-lam, Taiwanese singer Hush and local band Nowhere Boys among many others - are up for grabs from 10am today.

The carnival is part of the "Happy Hong Kong" campaign featuring a total of 20 music shows held on Saturdays and Sundays from July 8 to August 6 by the Wan Chai harborfront near the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Over 40 groups from Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and the mainland will perform.

The Tourism Board started distributing the 20,000 tickets for the first eight sessions - with each session accommodating about 2,500 viewers - through its online e-platform from 10am this morning.

Tickets for the remaining 12 sessions will be available from 10am on July 17. All tickets are on a first-come, first-served basis.

Those going to the shows are required to scan the independent QR codes of each ticket upon entrance. Each QR code admits one and is valid only once.

Chen, Cantopop girl group Lolly Talk and Nowhere Boys will headline the first concert starting at 6.30pm on July 8 followed by a second session featuring Hush and Cantopop singer Jason Chan Pak-Yu at 8.45pm.

The board said the tickets are nontransferable, and ticket-holders should arrive at the waiting area 30 minutes early for security checks and wristband collection.

Apart from the concerts on a temporary water stage, the summer carnival includes activities that do not require admission tickets such as street performances and dynamic X-game performances.

Twenty-five local and overseas street performing troupes will take turns to perform at the Wan Chai Promenade from 6pm to 11pm each night with a different theme featured each week - from acrobatics and circus acts, to traditional kung fu and diabolo performances.

Some local, mainland and Japanese BMX and skateboarding athletes will showcase their moves at outdoor X-game performing zones.

In addition, the multimedia light show "A Symphony of Lights" will feature additional beams projected from the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade and a special water pyrotechnic edition will be staged on the 10 nights of the carnival.

Craft beer, local drinks, popcorn and local snacks will be sold at the waterfront.