Race is on as arts fest blooms again

The 52nd Hong Kong Arts Festival will take place from February to March and feature more than 150 performances of 45 programs and advance bookings start 10 am today.

The theme of next year's festival is "Years in Bloom," and it is the first time it returns to a full scale after the three-year Covid pandemic - after this February's edition was staged in a "semi-recovery mode."

A one-month advance ticket booking period will start from 10 am today to November 21, when anyone from anywhere can grab a ticket for the shows via the festival's website, through fax, or by post, and enjoy up to 15 percent discount.

The program and booking guide are available on the website and the booking platform Urbtix outlets. A counter booking period will start on December 1, when people can reserve their tickets via Urbtix.

In a kick-off press conference yesterday, executive director Flora Yu Kit-yee said: "We make it our mission to introduce to Hong Kong audiences a fascinating line-up of daring and innovative new works."

The innovative performances, she said, included a pair of one-on-one immersive theater experiences The Smile Off Your Face and A Game of You by Belgian company Ontroerend Goed, for which only one ticket is available for each show.

"The whole crew performs just for an audience of one, and it is definitely a special experience," Yu said. "Do book your ticket early."

The festival will open with Bavarian State Opera's performances of Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss on February 22 and end with Shanghai Ballet's A Sign of Love on March 22.

It also features local works such as an adaptation of Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, which will be performed by a local cast that includes actors Terrance Lau Chun-him and Cherry Ngan Cheuk-ling.

Festival vice chairman Kingman Lo King-man said that the total budget in the 2023/24 fiscal year - which started on July 1 - is estimated to be more than HK$150 million.

A subsidy of HK$18.89 million given through the Leisure and Cultural Services Department has made up some 12 percent of the annual income.

"Fund-raising has always been an important source of income for the festival, and the 2024 fund-raising target accounts for nearly 48 percent of our total revenue," Lo said.

He also said audiences have been at the center of the festival's existence and motivation.

"The Hong Kong Arts Festival will continue our legacy of offering a broad spectrum of the world's best artists and performers, enticing the audience with an irresistible blend of timeless classics and groundbreaking new works," he said.