(Next to banner, right) Jim Thompson of AmCham with Mike Rowse InvestHK (left) and AmCham committee members

US music superstar Prince will head a glittering line-up of international artistes at Hong Kong’s largest ever music festival this autumn. Prince’s concert will be held on 17 October - the opening night of The Hong Kong Harbourfest - as one of his rare live performances anywhere in the world.

As well as Prince, some of the biggest names in the music world will be performing live in Hong Kong, including legendary rockers The Rolling Stones, Spanish tenor Jose Carreras, Latin rock guitarist Santana, boy band Westlife and R&B singer Craig David.

The Hong Kong Harbour Fest will be staged on Hong Kong's harbour front, against the backdrop of the city's world-famous skyline from 17 October to 9 November. The spectacle will put Hong Kong on the world stage as an entertainment venue, says Jim Thompson, Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), organiser of the mega event.

"We are going to put Hong Kong back into the international spotlight and attract visitors from North America, Europe and the rest of the world. We want to establish Hong Kong as a destination for quality, world class entertainment," said Mr Thompson. 

To be held over four weekends, the event will feature a dazzling series of live shows with rock n'roll, family entertainment, blues and jazz, classical, theatrical performances and a Vegas Night. Over 200,000 tickets will be available, with seatings for up to 13,000 people per show. This event will also be televised to more than 100 million homes in the US, Europe and Asia.

"Through the broadcast of this world-class entertainment, we want to show the world that Hong Kong continues to be a world-class city for investors and tourists," said Mike Rowse, director general of InvestHK, the Hong Kong government's inward investment agency, who are working with AmCham on the project.   

Mr Thompson said the current line up was just the start, with other stars from the entertainment and sporting world set to visit Hong Kong. More details at www.hkharbourfest.com

Beckham kicked off Hong Kong's packed calendar

Hong Kong's role as Asia's world city for hosting sports events kicked off in early August when Real Madrid soccer stars David Beckham, Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane jetted into Hong Kong to play a select team of players from Hong Kong and the Mainland. They were followed by basketball giant Yao Ming of NBA's Houston Rockets who, along with teammates, played an Australian team in the HSBC International Basketball Challenge. The Asian Gaelic Football 7s featuring 24 teams from 10 countries will be held later in September.

"There are always very good reasons to visit Hong Kong," said the Chief Secretary for Administration, Donald Tsang. "Now, we have made it irresistible with events all the way into 2004."

He was speaking at the mid August launch of the "Strato-Fantasia", a multi-media spectacular featuring the world's largest display stratosphere, together with laser and pyrotechnics set against Hong Kong's harbour skyline. There will be two shows every night until September 15.

Other Autumn highlights include the Mid Autumn Lantern Celebration (1-30 September) built around the popular Mid Autumn Festival; International Musical Fireworks Competition where teams from Italy, Japan and the US will compete in a sparkling showdown and the Hong Kong Winterfest (mid November to early January) where dozens of buildings will be decorated for the Harbour Light Show. More details at www.discoverhongkong.com
 
Prestigious events for the business visitor 

For those interested in linking business and pleasures, InvestHK is organising a series of prestigious business conferences in the coming six months.

From 12-15 October, the Pacific Insurance Conference will be held in Hong Kong for the first time; end October sees the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association or CASBAA Conference; and in early November there will be two events - the Forbes SME Awards Dinner, followed by the BusinessWeek CEO Forum (5-6 November). 

The events come on the back of a strong business and tourism recovery in Hong Kong after a difficult start to the year. In the first half of August, nearly 800,000 visitors came to Hong Kong, putting the city on track to exceed the 1.5 million visitors recorded in August 2002.

Related links:
Hong Kong Harbour Fest www.hkharbourfest.com
Hong Kong Tourism Board www.discoveryhongkong.com
InvestHK   www.investhk.gov.hk