The 53rd Hong Kong Arts Festival in 2025 opened today

Featuring a stellar lineup of more than 1,300 international and local artists

in more than 125 performances of over 45 programmes

With 80% of tickets already sold

(Hong Kong, 28 February 2025)

The 53rd Hong Kong Arts Festival (HKAF) officially opened today (28 February) with a performance by Italy’s Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna. This year, more than 1,300 acclaimed international and local artists will stage over 45 programmes in more than 125 performances during the month-long Festival, including four new works/world premieres, five Asian premieres and two co-productions. As of today (28 February), 80% of the over 100,000 available tickets for the performances have already been sold.

The Festival’s opening ceremony was held at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre with The Honourable John KC Lee, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, as Guest of Honour. Joining him in the officiating party were Prof Kingman Lo, Chairman of the Hong Kong Arts Festival; Mr Li Shuguang, 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; Mr Michael T H Lee, Chairman of The Hong Kong Jockey Club; Ms Rosanna Law, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism; Ms Manda Chan, Director of Leisure and Cultural Services; and Ms Flora Yu, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Arts Festival. The Festival Opening Performance was sponsored by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, and is one of three pillar programmes under “The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series”.

[Photos of the opening ceremony can be downloaded here]

The 53rd HKAF continues to present renowned masters from Hong Kong and around the world, including the Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna who opened the Festival, the China National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra who will bring the Festival Finale performance, pianist-conductor Sir András Schiff, baritone Christian Gerhaher, pianists Elisso Virsaladze and Pi-hsien Chen, percussionist Li Biao, Cantonese opera veteran Yuen Siu-fai, and the Shanghai Yue Opera House. The Festival also showcases an extraordinary array of masterpieces, with reconstructions of the original such as the opera Carmen and ballet La Sylphide, and brand-new interpretations including theatre works such as Thunderstorm, Crime and Punishment, TIME, Wuthering Heights and HIPPOLYTUS. This year’s Festival lineup also has a strong emphasis on fantasy and adventure, such as Jockey Club InnoArts Series: No reality now, Le Bal de Paris de Blanca Li, Jockey Club East-meets-West Series: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Beethoven Wars: A Battle for Peace and Bells and Spells. Some of these programmes utilise VR and AR technology for an immersive and interactive experience, while others draw on the more traditional puppetry and circus arts.

This year’s HKAF continues to bring the arts into the community through a diverse series of over 300 outreach events, including special events for Young Friends, educational activities for students at primary and secondary schools as well as tertiary institutions and different communities, and PLUS events for the public, including exhibitions, masterclasses, workshops, backstage tours, artist talks, film screenings and local cultural tours, enhancing the audiences’ Festival experience.

Tickets to HKAF programmes can be purchased at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk | 3166 1288 | URBTIX outlets). Tickets to performances at The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts are also available through Cityline (www.cityline.com | 2111 5333), while tickets for performances at the Xiqu Centre are also available through the Xiqu Centre Ticket Office.

Members of the public can visit www.hk.artsfestival.org for detailed information about the programmes as well as register for selected events of Festival PLUS.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The 53rd HKAF is most grateful to its funder, sponsors and supporters, including the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government via the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, ICBC (Asia), C.C. Wu Cultural and Education Foundation Fund, China Resources (Holdings) Co., Ltd., Shun Hing Group, and Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund; Gala Dinner Partner Henderson Land Development Co. Ltd.; Official Airline Cathay Pacific Airways Limited; Official Outdoor Media Partner POADmedia Limited; Official Premium Car Partner Dah Chong Hong (Motor Leasing) Limited; Official Video Technology Partner Blackfoot Holdings Limited; and Major Hotel Partner Grand Hyatt Hong Kong.

The HKAF would also like to express its utmost gratitude to the sponsors of Love in the Bamboo Grove GBA Tour: China National Arts Fund, Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the HKSAR Government, and the Hong Kong Arts Festival Foundation.

### END ###

ABOUT THE HONG KONG ARTS FESTIVAL

Launched in 1973, the Hong Kong Arts Festival is a major international arts festival committed to enriching the cultural life of the city. In February and March every year, the Festival presents leading local and international artists from all genres of the performing arts, giving equal importance to great traditions and contemporary creations. The Festival also commissions and produces work in theatre, music, chamber opera and contemporary dance by Hong Kong’s own creative talents and emerging artists, many of which have subsequently had successful runs in Hong Kong and overseas. Every year, the Festival also presents more than 250 “PLUS” and educational activities that offer diverse arts experiences to the community as well as tertiary, secondary and primary school students. In addition, through the “No Limits” project co-presented with The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, the Festival strives to create an inclusive space for people of different abilities to share the joy of the arts together.

For more information about the Hong Kong Arts Festival, please visit www.hk.artsfestival.org.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES

For further enquiries, please contact:

• Ms Katy Cheng (Marketing Director): (852)2828 4930 / katy.cheng@hkaf.org

• Ms Vicki Cheng (Marketing Manager): (852) 2828 4933 / vicki.cheng@hkaf.org

• Ms Stephanie Cheung (Marketing Manager): (852) 2828 4938 / stephanie.cheung@hkaf.org

Officiating Guests at the Opening Ceremony of the 53rd Hong Kong Arts Festival on 28 February included: (Front Row from Left to right) Ms Manda Chan, Director of Leisure and Cultural Services; Mr Li Shuguang, 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; Mr Michael T H Lee, Chairman of The Hong Kong Jockey Club; The Honourable John KC Lee, Chief Executive of the HKSAR; Prof Lo Kingman, SBS, MBE, Chairman of the Hong Kong Arts Festival; Ms Rosanna Law, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism; and Ms Flora Yu, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Arts Festival.

Hong Kong Arts Festival Executive Committee Members present at the Opening Ceremony included: (back row from left) Mr Colin Farrell, Mr Sunny Yeung, Ms Joanna Hotung, Mr Hugh Simon, and Mr Tam Wingpong.

Prof Lo Kingman, Chairman of the Hong Kong Arts Festival, gives a welcoming speech

The Honourable John KC Lee, GBM, SBS, PDSM, PMSM, Chief Executive of the HKSAR, gives a speech at the Opening Ceremony