Hong Kong Cultural Centre

    Since its inauguration in 1989, the Hong Kong Cultural Centre has established itself as a premier performing arts venue, attracting leading artists from around the world.

    It has three main performing venues: Concert Hall, Grand Theatre and Studio Theatre with seating capacities of 2 019, 1 734 and 321/496, respectively. In 2002, a total of 646 677 people attended 808 performances in these venues. An Arts and Crafts Fair is organised at the piazza every Sunday and on selected public holidays with the aim of enhancing the cultural atmosphere of the venue and attracting visitors.

Hong Kong City Hall

The Hong Kong City Hall has commanded a special place in Hong Kong's cultural life since its establishment in 1962. It is a major multi-purpose complex comprising a Concert Hall, Theatre, Recital Hall, Exhibition Hall and Exhibition Gallery. In 2002, the City Hall celebrated its 40th anniversary, and a series of celebratory programmes was arranged. In addition, various venue enhancement works were carried out. A total of 1 640 events were held during the year, attracting 397 885 people.

Regional and District Civic Centres

In addition to the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Hong Kong City Hall and the two indoor stadia, the LCSD operates 11 regional and district civic centres: the Sheung Wan Civic Centre and Sai Wan Ho Civic Centre on Hong Kong Island; the Ngau Chi Wan Civic Centre and Ko Shan Theatre in Kowloon; and the Sha Tin Town Hall, Tsuen Wan Town Hall, Tuen Mun Town Hall, Kwai Tsing Theatre, Yuen Long Theatre, North District Town Hall and Tai Po Civic Centre in the New Territories.

    Through the 'Artists-in-residence' Scheme, local arts groups may use one of these 11 venues for a designated period to develop and promote their creative works and educational programmes among the district communities.

    With the aim of providing opportunities for the arts community to be involved in organising programmes, and to fully utilise the facilities at the department's venues, a Programme Partnership Pilot Scheme for the Yuen Long Theatre and the North District Town Hall was launched in 2002–03. Under this scheme, facilities and resources were provided to selected arts groups so they could organise audience-building programmes and create new works. The scheme will be extended to the Sheung Wan Civic Centre and the Ngau Chi Wan Civic Centre in 2003–04.

Indoor Stadia

The Hong Kong Coliseum and the Queen Elizabeth Stadium are two of the largest multi-purpose indoor stadia in Hong Kong. The 12 500-seat coliseum is a leading venue for pop concerts, musicals, entertainment spectaculars, international sporting events, cultural programmes, large-scale celebrations and conventions. The 3 600-seat stadium is suitable for holding sports events, cultural and entertainment performances, school ceremonies, conferences and variety shows.

    In 2002, 411 performances were staged in the two indoor stadia, attracting over 1 896 455 people.

URBTIX - Computerised Ticketing System

URBTIX, launched in 1984, has become the most popular ticketing system through which members of the public may purchase tickets at any of the 31 outlets as well as through its telephone reservation and Internet ticketing services. In 2002, some 3.7 million tickets for over 6 449 performances were sold, with a total sales value of $490 million.

    A project is in hand to outsource the back-end ticketing system, i.e. hardware and software with enhanced features, to the private sector for development of an advanced ticketing system targeted to be completed by the end of 2004. The LCSD will maintain the operation of ticket outlets and services for venue hirers.