30 per cent early bird discount for Asia+ Festival stage programmes to end on September 3 (with photos)

The second edition of the Asia+ Festival will be held from September to November, highlighting the arts and culture of nearly 30 countries from Asia, the Middle East and Belt and Road regions.

The festival is offering Stage Programmes Booking Discount Schemes, including package booking, group booking and "Middle Eastern Series" package booking discounts. An additional 5 per cent discount is available for full-price tickets for selected programmes purchased through any of the above schemes on or before September 3. The biggest discount amounts to 30 per cent. For details of the discount schemes, please refer to Booking Guide on the festival website. Audiences should act quickly to take advantage of the early bird discount.

The Asia+ Festival is presented by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau and organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. This year its scale is even larger, showcasing over 100 performances and activities.

The booking discount schemes are applicable to the nine stage programmes below:

1. Opening Programme: "The Accountants"
British cross-disciplinary artist Keith Khan, Mainland Chinese choreographer Xie Xin and Indian choreographers Terence Lewis and Mahrukh Dumasia come together for this uplifting and high-tech visual spectacle.

2. "The Woven Sounds"
Iranian ethnomusicologist and musician Mehdi Aminian performs rarely seen traditional Persian instruments with his ensemble, reviving a folk custom of carpet weavers who would sing while working.

3. "After the Rain"
Local group Toolbox Percussion, media arts collective Dimension Plus and Singaporean composer Lee Jiayi transform the Western Salt Water Service Reservoirs into a striking chamber for a site-specific multimedia music journey.

4. ElÄ«na GaranÄ�a Gala Concert
Latvian mezzo-soprano ElÄ«na GaranÄ�a, hailed as the finest "Carmen" in 25 years, performs a fine selection of opera excerpts and songs in her Hong Kong debut.

5. "+1+1+1+"
Japanese media arts pioneer Daito Manabe, choreographer MIKIKO and her dance company ELEVENPLAY co-create a hyperreal digital odyssey with holographic projection in this arts tech showpiece.

6. Piano Recital by Krystian Zimerman (limited tickets left)
Widely regarded as one of the world's greatest pianists, Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman returns after a 12-year hiatus to perform two recitals with partly different programmes.

7. "Post Capitalistic Auction"
In this alternative yet authentic auction co-created by Mainland Chinese artist Jingyi Wang and local curator Kyle Chung, audience members will have the opportunity to bid in tangible or intangible ways they can think of.

8. Concert by Kinan Azmeh
Syrian-born award-winning clarinettist Kinan Azmeh, with a distinctive voice that blends Arabic and Western influences, will be joined by percussionist John Hadfield and five emerging local musicians in his Hong Kong debut.

9. "Atonement"
This suspenseful production by Malaysian theatre group MUKA Space is adapted from "Den Skyldige", the Best Film at the Robert Awards. It also won five awards at the prestigious ADA Drama Awards in its home country.

Tickets are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). The telephone booking hotline number is 3166 1288; audiences may also use the mobile ticketing application URBTIX. For programme enquiries, please call 2370 1044 or visit www.asiaplus.gov.hk/2024/en/.