Police all fired up for National Day festivities

Sophie Hui

The Security Bureau will make sure it has adequate manpower and contingency plans for dealing with potential emergencies during National Day festivities, Chris Tang Ping-keung said yesterday.

The National Day fireworks display will light up Victoria Harbour again on Sunday after a five-year hiatus, and this time, the 23-minute show will feature new heart patterns, and three color changes at one time, according to the fireworks company.

Tang, the secretary for security, also urged people watching the fireworks to follow police orders.

"Actually we have different contingency plans in place to tackle different situations," he added.

Tang was speaking as the websites of cinemas were swamped.

The movie fans were looking to purchase the half-priced tickets for film showings on National Day that went on sale from noon yesterday.

Sixty-four cinemas are offering 50 percent off for all tickets Sunday.

Discounts for children, students, and the elderly will remain.

Each person can only purchase a maximum of four tickets at a theater's box office, while online purchases are subject to restrictions imposed by each theater.

People had to queue to enter websites of some cinema chains, including Broadway Circuit, MCL Cinema, and Emperor Cinemas, but only a few sessions were sold out last night.

Some also went to cinemas to buy tickets at lunchtime.

At a cinema in Mong Kok, a man, Law, said he wanted to watch a movie on Sunday, despite a number of cinemas having already launched discounted tickets for movies playing after 9 pm in support of the Night Vibes Hong Kong campaign.

Law also said he was happy to see other freebies on National Day.

Citybus yesterday announced half-priced fares for overnight routes on Sunday that it solely runs.

It will also enhance its service during the mid-autumn festival on Friday, by adding two routes at night - route 173R that runs between Stanley and Tsim Sha Tsui east, as well as route X15 that runs between Central Pier and the Peak.