Cancellation of February and March Performances and Events of the
48th Hong Kong Arts Festival in 2020

(Hong Kong, 10 February 2020)

In view of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, the resultant closures of venues across the city, and concerns for the health and safety of participating artists and audiences, the Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF) has made the difficult decision to cancel the February and March performances of the 48th HKAF. The HKAF team is working to reschedule a portion of the performances to be presented at a later date.

The cancellations will affect the more than 120 performances of the 48th HKAF and its related events in February and March, including Young Friends activities, HKartsFestival@TaiKwun programming and all PLUS events, excluding PLUS films. The “No Limits” project will also not be held in February and March as scheduled.

Victor Cha, Chairman of the Hong Kong Arts Festival, says: “It is with deep regret that we announce the cancellation of the February and March performances and events of the 48th HKAF. We hope the current epidemic will be brought under control soon and are confident that the city will recover its vibrancy. I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to all of our stakeholders, including sponsors, donors, participating artists and audiences, for their enduring support. We share your enthusiasm for the performing arts, and will continue delivering world-class performances to Hong Kong in the future.”

Tisa Ho, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Arts Festival, says: “The HKAF team is heartbroken to see this cancellation. We have poured all of our passion for the performing arts and countless hours of effort into preparing this year’s Festival; we share in the disappointment over the cancellation of so many eagerly anticipated performances. However, the safety of our audience, participating artists and staff is our top priority. We hope the city will return to good health soon and that our stakeholders will come together to support the cultural sector as we weather this crisis. In the meantime, the HKAF team is working with participating artists and venues to explore the possibility of rescheduling some of the productions in the near future. Information on any rescheduled performances will be announced at a later date.”

For those wishing to refund their tickets to the 48th HKAF, general refund information can be found at https://go.hkaf.org/rfa. Patrons may consider donating the cost of their tickets in full or in part to support the organisation through this crisis; this can be done by selecting the donation option in the Refund Form.

For general enquiries, please email enquiry@hkaf.org.

For further media enquiries, please contact Ms Katy Cheng (katy.cheng@hkaf.org), Mr Dennis Wu (dennis.wu@hkaf.org) or Ms Alexia Chow (alexia.chow@hkaf.org).