　　The 4th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival (the Festival) was held in the "9+2" cities in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) from October 19 to November 24 last year. The Festival was jointly presented by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), the People's Government of Guangdong Province and the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region. As the host city of the Festival for the first time, Hong Kong brought together over 14 000 local and Mainland cultural and arts practitioners to stage more than 770 live performances and exchange activities in Hong Kong and other cities in the GBA concurrently, and rolled out over 70 online programmes during the Festival period, attracting more than 2.16 million participants and an online viewership of some 46 million.
　　The Festival, with the theme of "Integration in Diversity – Power and Possibilities", aimed to showcase the vibrant and diverse cultural richness of the GBA and foster cultural exchanges and co-operation among the GBA cities. During the Festival, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), in collaboration with municipal governments, cultural organisations and arts groups in the GBA, staged six productions in Hong Kong, namely the opening programme "Sound River", the music and multi-arts production "ChoreoMusica Soiree", the "POP KONG" concert, the Cantonese opera film "The Legend of The White Snake", the 2024 Zhuhai-Hong Kong-Macao Choral Concert "Songs Echo My Voice" and the dance drama "Wing Chun" Special Edition. The performances attracted more than 17 000 audience members in total with an average attendance rate of over 94 per cent. The "Sound River" also attracted a live broadcast viewership of about 2.6 million, showcasing the achievements of the in-depth exchanges between Hong Kong and other GBA cities
　　To broaden the audience reach and promote cultural diversity in the GBA, some of the above-mentioned programmes, such as the "POP KONG" concert and the dance drama "Wing Chun" Special Edition, also featured chit-chat sessions for students, which attracted nearly 3 000 teachers and students to participate in a total of six sessions. Teachers attending the programmes considered it a precious learning opportunity for their students to join these large-scale performing arts programmes, while some students were very excited to be able to interact closely with outstanding performers. The LCSD also arranged an extension activity in a large shopping mall. Some of the participants were very pleased with the arts and cultural activities reaching out to the community, and considered that such an approach could help promote Hong Kong's arts and cultural scene in the city to the public and tourists.
　　The LCSD has been collaborating with arts organisations in the GBA to nurture young Hong Kong artists through the Festival's platforms. A good example is Huang Danyang, a graduate from the School of Dance of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA), who shone at an audition carried out by the LCSD, the HKAPA and the Shenzhen Opera and Dance Theatre, and was selected to take part in the dance drama "Wing Chun" Special Edition. Huang has been subsequently employed by the Theatre to join its touring performances for the next three years to gain more performance experience.
　　The two-day Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Symposium 2024 attracted over 600 arts and cultural professionals from Hong Kong and other GBA and Mainland cities to share and explore the latest emerging trends of arts and cultural developments in the region. Many participants noted that the Symposium had provided effective communication platforms for the industry players to conduct comprehensive discussions and explore opportunities of collaboration, and jointly promote exchanges and the integration of arts and culture in the GBA.
　　In terms of exhibitions, public libraries in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao organised the "Heritage and Inclusion: Literary Treasures of the Greater Bay Area" exhibition in November last year. Through precious historical documents and information of the three places, the exhibition aimed to enhance public understanding of the cultural connections and developments of the regions. Now underway, the "Celebrating National Day – Auspicious Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Greater Bay Area" exhibition introduces selected intangible cultural heritage (ICH) items from 11 GBA cities. During the exhibition period, various demonstrations and experiential activities are organised to enable members of the public to experience the excellent ICH craftsmanship of the GBA. The exhibition is currently being staged at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum and will run until March 31.
　　Through the Festival, the LCSD also brought to the GBA cities 11 high-quality cultural products from Hong Kong in different forms and styles, covering music, dance, multi-arts, Cantonese opera, an ink painting exhibition, etc. Local jazz musician Teriver Cheung, who participated in the "Guangzhou Jazz Music Festival" and the "Macao International Music Festival", expressed his great pleasure to have the opportunity to collaborate with musicians from other GBA cities to promote arts development in the GBA for creating a more fascinating cultural scene.
　　During the Festival period, participants' views were collected through questionnaires. Over 90 per cent of the respondents indicated that they had enjoyed the activities of the Festival, and will continue to participate in the coming year. The LCSD expressed gratitude to the local cultural sector, as well as the municipal governments, cultural organisations and arts groups of various GBA cities for their unwavering support in organising and promoting the 4th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival, which has made the Festival a great success. The Government of the HKSAR looks forward to continuing to join hands with the "9+2" cities in the GBA to showcase the colours of humanity and the rich arts and cultural essence that come from the same roots. Such an approach will also help promote the cultural characteristics of the Lingnan legacy, strengthen arts and cultural exchanges and co-operation in the GBA, as well as promote traditional Chinese culture.
　　For more information about the Festival, please visit www.gbacxlo.gov.hk/en.
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