​The Government today (January 22) reminded members of the public that during the Lunar New Year holidays (January 29 to 31), all public COVID-19 vaccination venues and most of the Private Clinic COVID-19 Vaccination Stations (PCV… read more
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (January 22) announced the test results of a recently completed seasonal food surveillance project on Lunar New Year (LNY) food (secon… read more
Following is a question by the Hon Yang Wing-kit and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, in the Legislative Council today (January 22): Question: &nbs… read more
Following is a question by the Hon Yim Kwong and a written reply by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, in the Legislative Council today (January 22):
Question:
The National 14th Five-Year Plan expressly supports Hong Kong’s development into an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange, and the Development Blueprint for Hong Kong’s Tourism Industry 2.0 promulgated by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau on December 30 last year further outlines clearly a vision and development mission for Hong Kong’s tourism industry. However, some groups have relayed that quite a number of tourist-captivating events cannot take place in Hong Kong due to the fact that certain public spaces are only open until 11pm, and notably a large-scale magic fest originally planned to be staged in Hong Kong was called off for this reason. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as it has been learnt that a number of concerts and performances held at government venues were fined for failing to finish at the scheduled time in the past three years, whether statistics have been compiled and analyses have been made in this regard by the authorities, in particular the analyses on the reasons for the overruns, etc.; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) whether the authorities have, in the light of the need to develop the mega event economy, reviewed afresh the restrictions on the opening hours of venues for organising sports and performing arts events, in particular the possibility of extending the opening hours or implementing 24-hour opening for public spaces in non-core residential areas; if so, of the details and progress made; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) given that the Kai Tak Sports Park will open in the first quarter of this year, whether the authorities will make flexible arrangements for the opening hours of the Park on the request of event organisers?
Reply:
President,
There are various outdoor and indoor venues for hosting different types and scales of cultural, sports and entertainment events in Hong Kong. To allow more events that are well-received by the public and tourists to be smoothly organised, various government bureaux and departments maintain close communication on the arrangements of events, with a view to facilitating organisers to carry out the activities smoothly, at the same time balancing the impact on the daily lives of residents in the neighbourhood.
In consultation with the Development Bureau (DEVB), the Environment and Ecology Bureau, the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau and the Security Bureau, my reply to the question raised by the Hon Yim Kong is as follows:
(2) and (3) Approval and support by various government departments are often required for organising events. When assessing individual events, relevant departments would consider and facilitate, taking into account the surrounding environment as well as actual situation and needs of the event, in a holistic and proactive manner. If an organiser is required to apply for a Temporary Places of Public Entertainment Licence from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department for holding an event in a public premises, the FEHD would consult the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and the Police. The EPD would provide professional advice on noise management in accordance with the requirements as stated in the Noise Control Ordinance. For a public entertainment activity at outdoor area involving no music, singing, or instrumental performing, no noise control requirements or restrictions on the time of activity will be imposed, as long as no noise disturbance is caused to nearby residents. The activity may last until 11pm and beyond. If there are any music, singing and instrument performing activities which may emit low level of noise, the organiser should consider adopting suitable noise mitigation measures, such as adjusting the number, position, direction and volume of speakers to minimise noise emission from the activities, in order to ensure compliance with the requirement of noise not being audible within the neighbourhood nearby after 11pm. The EPD welcomes inquiries from organisers and stands ready to provide professional advice and assistance. Should there be a need to extend the event beyond 11pm, the Police would actively facilitate, taking into account the actual situation, provided that the public order and safety would not be affected.
Opening in March this year, the Kai Tak Sports Park (KTSP) is the largest sports infrastructure ever commissioned in Hong Kong. It will boost sports development and inject impetus into related industries such as recreation, entertainment and tourism, and also mega-event economy. Venues of various scale within the KTSP will provide modern and multi-purpose sports and recreation facilities. A number of local and international events promotion agencies have decided or planned to rent the different facilities at the KTSP for sports and entertainment activities. Guided by the aforementioned principles, relevant departments would also consider and facilitate, taking into account the surrounding environment as well as actual situation and needs of the event, in a holistic and proactive manner when vetting event proposals. The operating hours of the venues in the KTSP will also be flexibly adjusted for accommodating the actual situations and needs of individual events.
(1) For the Hong Kong Coliseum (HKC) and the Queen Elizabeth Stadium (QES) under the management of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), the contracts signed between the LCSD and organisers of pop concerts specify the starting and ending times of events. According to the contracts, concerts must conclude no later than 11.30pm. If an event continues beyond the scheduled ending time, the organiser has to pay additional rent based on the mechanism as specified in the contract. Over the past three years (2022 to 2024), the numbers of performance sessions at the two venues exceeding the scheduled ending time and causing the organisers to pay additional rent are listed below:
| Venue | Number of sessions | Major cause |
| HKC | 27 | Performances of singers overrunning |
| QES | 0 | N/A |
Following is a question by Hon William Wong and a written reply by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Miss Rosanna Law, in the Legislative Council today (January 22):
Question:
To promote the development of the electronic sports (e-sports) industry in Hong Kong, the Government injected $100 million into Cyberport in 2018-2019, half of which would be used for developing the Cyberport Arcade into an e-sports and digital entertainment node, including the conversion of the Ocean View Court of the Arcade in Cyberport into a dedicated e-sports venue, while the other half would be used for promoting the development of the local e-sports industry. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the projects launched by Cyberport to promote the development of the e-sports industry; the respective durations of such projects and the respective numbers of people/organisations benefiting from them;
(2) whether it has compiled statistics on the utilisation rates of the dedicated e-sports venue at the Ocean View Court of the Arcade in Cyberport in the latest three years, and the respective percentages of professional, local and international e-sports competitions held in that venue; whether it has compiled statistics on the average attendance rates for such e-sports competitions;
(3) as it has been reported that e-sports was included as a medal sport in the last Asian Games in Hangzhou and will also be so in the next Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, and the inaugural Olympic Esports Games will be held this year, and that meanwhile many countries and regions have recognised e-sports as a sport, whether the Government has plans to officially include e-sports in the scope of sports policy, so that practitioners in the e-sports industry gain the same protection and support as those in traditional sports industries, and the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau can promote e-sports in the community, support elite e-sports, promote Hong Kong as a centre for major international e-sports events, enhance professionalism and develop e-sports as an industry in a regulated manner; and
(4) as there are views pointing out that the attraction of more than two million visitor arrivals by the inaugural Esports World Cup, held this year in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, showcases the effectiveness of e-sports as mega sports events, and Hong Kong is actively organising mega events to consolidate its reputation as Asia’s events capital, whether the authorities have plans to create a competitive and internationalised e-sports ecosystem and support local e-sports associations or relevant organisations in bidding for the hosting rights of large-scale international e-sports competitions and professional leagues, thereby attracting tourists to come for watching the competitions and thus generating more tourism revenue?
Reply:
President,
The Government noted the rapid development of electronic sports (e-sports) around the globe. With its fusion of competition, skills, technology and entertainment, e-sports is one of the emerging competition events which is particularly attractive to young people. The Government has been closely monitoring the development of e-sports in Hong Kong and exploring ways to support the development of the e-sports industry from different perspectives, including technological development, peripheral products and professional competitions.
Having consulted the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau, my consolidated reply to the four parts of the question raised by Hon William Wong is as follows:
(1) and (2) The 2018-19 Budget announced an allocation of $100 million to Cyberport to help promote the development of the e-sports industry, of which some $50 million was used to convert part of the Cyberport Arcade to provide a venue suitable for hosting small to medium-sized e-sports competitions and training activities, as well as a digital entertainment hotspot. Over the past three years, around 200 events were held at the venue, including 21 e-sports tournaments, six of which were international competitions and 15 were local competitions, including activities related to the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou E-sports Representative Selection and Qualifying Tournament and Hong Kong E-sports Super League. The average on-site attendance ranged from a few dozen to 300 people. Many of these events were conducted in both offline and online format, enabling local and international audiences to participate through live streaming. Hence, some international events garnered online viewership in tens of thousands.
In addition to venue support, with the support of the above dedicated funding, Cyberport launched the “Esports Industry Facilitation Scheme” from 2019 to 2021 to provide subsidies for the industry to organise e-sports tournaments and activities, participate in overseas exchanges and explore business opportunities, offer e-sports education programmes, and host promotional events, involving 167 projects in total. Furthermore, Cyberport introduced the “Esports Internship Scheme” in 2019 to offer internship opportunities to students, graduates, and eligible youth interested in joining the e-sports industry and with relevant qualifications or experience. The internship scheme ceased accepting new applications in November 2021. A total of around 90 internship positions had been approved and about 50 of them were successfully matched.
(3) and (4) In recent years, e-sports has gradually been recognised as a competition event by some international sports organisations, and Hong Kong players have achieved good results in international and Asian competitions. With e-sports being a competition event in the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou held in 2022, the Government provided funding support to the Esports Association of Hong Kong, China (ESAHK) to send more than 30 players to compete in seven e-sports events. The team brought home a silver medal in one of the events. In view of the achievements of the Hong Kong team at the Hangzhou Asian Games, the Hong Kong Sports Institute has been providing funding to 12 athletes through the Individual Athletes Support Scheme in 2024-2025. Additional funding is also being provided to ESAHK for hiring coaches and supporting athletes’ competition and training needs, with a view to promoting e-sports as an elite sports.
Popular major e-sports competitions around the world have created a global fervour for participating in and watching e-sports games. These competitions can attract a large number of overseas audiences to watch the competitions, which provide business opportunities by generating revenues and benefits from gate receipts, peripheral spending, advertising sponsorships, technological innovation and support, etc. The Government is committed to promoting Hong Kong as a centre for major international sports events through the “M” Mark System. We welcome major international e-sports competitions to be held in Hong Kong, and will provide funding support to such events through the “M” Mark System. read more