A local-youth think tank survey found that over 85 percent of young people in Hong Kong recognize the importance of mega events to the city’s development, and more than 70 percent believe such events strengthen their sense of belonging.
Hong Kong is set to host multiple megaevents in the first half of the year. High-profile events in March and April include Art Basel Hong Kong, LIV Golf 2026, and the Hong Kong Sevens.
Youth I.D.E.A.S., a think tank established by the Youth Research Centre of the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups, conducted field questionnaires from December 10 to 14 last year, gathering 520 responses from youths aged 15 to 34.
The results showed that 86.2 percent of respondents agreed that mega events are important to social development, 79.4 percent said events are closely related to themselves, and 74.2 percent said such events enhance their sense of belonging to Hong Kong.
The survey found that 82.9 percent of youths had attended events as audience or visitors. More than half of them (53.5 percent) spent between HK$1,000 and HK$2,999, and 7.5 percent spent between HK$3,000 and HK$4,999 on tickets, merchandise, food, accomdation and transportation.
The largest share of respondents (27.3 percent) rated “international reputation” as the most essential criterion for mega events, followed by “larger scale” (21.5 percent).
Youths’ confidence in Hong Kong retaining the title of “Events Capital of Asia” averaged 6.8 out of 10, a prudent score. 29.8 percent expected events to enhance Hong Kong’s international image.
Meanwhile, 42.3 percent of respondents were willing to volunteer at events, but only 1.7 percent had actually done so.
Nearly half (49.6 percent) were interested in event-related careers, yet past-year involvement was low – 0.6 percent in full-time roles and 3.1 percent part-time. Participation as competitors and performers was 3.7 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.
John Poon Tsz-fung, convener of the think tank’s Youth Development and Engagement Group, noted that Hong Kong has a solid foundation for hosting mega events. However, the wide range of events has led to fragmented information and a lack of unified branding.
He urged the government to launch an official events logo to certify authorized activities.
The think tank also recommended creating an event talent platform for one-stop information, setting up a dedicated office to focus on resource integration, brand promotion, talent training, and incorporating youth co-creation and training into government funding schemes.
