The Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF) opened today (28 February) with continued support from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, a partnership that dates back to the Festival’s launch over five decades ago. The opening ceremony was held at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, with officiating guests including HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee; Deputy Director General of the Department of Publicity, Cultural and Sports Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR, Li Shuguang; HKSAR Government Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law; HKSAR Government Director of Leisure and Cultural Services Manda Chan; Club Chairman Michael Lee; HKAF Chairman Lo Kingman and HKAF Executive Director Flora Yu.
As a long-term partner of the HKAF, the Club has supported the highly-regarded arts festival in presenting three pillar programmes under The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series each year since 2008. This year, the series features the Festival’s opening performance by Italy’s Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, conducted by world-renowned maestro Donato Renzetti. It also includes La Sylphide, an enchanting fairy tale performed by the Czech National Ballet, and the world’s most enduring romantic opera, Bizet’s Carmen.
Furthermore, the Club’s Charities Trust is the sole sponsor of the world premiere of the Putonghua adaptation of Jules Verne’s timeless sci-fi classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, part of the newly launched Jockey Club East-meets-West Series. This world stage play’s Putonghua adaptation, commissioned by the HKAF, will see masterminds from France collaborate with top-notch Chinese theatre artists to create a new rendition of the literary classic.
To encourage local students from varied backgrounds to appreciate top-class artistic performances, the Club has long supported The Hong Kong Jockey Club Student Matinee Programme, which enables them to enjoy free performances. This year, the programme includes Beethoven Wars: A Battle for Peace, performed by the Insula orchestra and accentus. A guided talk will be provided for students before the performance, to enhance their understanding of the shows and theatre etiquette, as well as their capacity for arts appreciation.
The Club is also delighted to support the Jockey Club InnoArts Series with the aim to promote the convergence of art and technology. This year, the series features No Reality Now — an immersive theatre experience that combines dance with virtual reality (VR) technology. Audience members can switch between the live performance on stage and the augmented version using a VR headset that can be worn or removed at any time.
For more details and the most up-to-date information, please visit www.hk.artsfestival.org/en/.
Sports & Culture is one of the priority areas of the Club’s Charities Trust. The Club continues to support a wide range of arts and cultural initiatives citywide as well as the Central Government’s vision of developing Hong Kong as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange, as outlined in the National 14th Five-Year Plan.
The Club’s support for the Hong Kong Arts Festival, like all of its charity donations, is made possible by its unique integrated business model through which racing and wagering generate tax contributions, charity support and employment opportunities for the community.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club
Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a world-class racing club that acts continuously for the betterment of society. The Club has a unique integrated business model comprising racing and racecourse entertainment, a membership club, responsible sports wagering and lottery, and charities and community contribution. Through this model, the Club generates economic and social value for the community and supports the HKSAR Government in combatting illegal gambling. In 2023/24, the Club returned a total of HK$40.1 billion to the community. This included HK$29.9 billion to the HKSAR Government in duty, profits tax and Lotteries Fund contributions and HK$10.2 billion in approved charity donations. The Club is Hong Kong’s largest single taxpayer and one of the city’s major employers. Its Charities Trust is one of the world’s leading charity donors.
