Fireworks will light up Hong Kong’s skies on National Day for the first time since 2019, after the city’s pyrotechnics displays were cancelled due to protests and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Chief Executive John Lee made the announcement at his weekly press conference on Tuesday.
“The Victoria Harbour will once again be filled with colourful fireworks to celebrate the 74th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China,” said Lee in Cantonese.
Hong Kong traditionally hosts a fireworks display on October 1 to mark National Day, as well as to celebrate the new year and the Lunar New Year.
But the last time there was a pyrotechnics show was February 2019, to ring in the Lunar New Year. The National Day and new year fireworks that year were cancelled due to protests and unrest that began in June over a controversial extradition bill and grew into wider demonstrations against the Hong Kong and Beijing governments.
Subsequent fireworks displays were axed because of Covid-19, when authorities enacted stringent measures including limits on group gatherings.
“This will be the first fireworks show in Hong Kong in five years. We will have a series of celebrations and special offers in order to keep Hong Kong’s evenings alive,” Lee said.
‘Night economy’
Hong Kong maintained strict Covid-19 rules for over three years, keeping them in place long after countries around the world had resumed normalcy.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan said earlier this month that with economic recovery and tourism picking up, the city was looking into ways to revive the night-time economy. Lawmakers from the Liberal Party have suggested that the government could hold pop-up bazaars, and in the long term, take reference from night markets in places such as Taiwan and Thailand, local media reported.
Lee said on Monday that the government would announce details next week about the evening activities it was planning.
He said that authorities had contacted representatives from different industries to talk about organising evening events and that their feedback was “positive.”
“A lot of shopping malls will hold diversified activities, provide special offers and extend the business hours to revitalise our night economy,” Lee added. “There will also be different activities in the community.”
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