The 4th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival opened today (October 19) at the Hong Kong Coliseum, kicking off over 260 events to be held in the "9+2" cities in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) from today until November 24. The Festival is 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.
In a video speech addressing the opening ceremony, the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, said that the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival is an annual mega event for the arts and culture industry in the GBA. This year also marks the first time for Hong Kong to be the host city of the Festival, presenting audiences with the rich arts and cultural essence of GBA cities. He expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for its ongoing support to the arts and cultural exchanges and collaborations in the GBA, enriching the cultural soft power of the region. He is confident that this year's Festival can further promote cultural integration and talent exchanges among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao and inject new creativity and vitality into arts and cultural development, while showcasing to the world the new landscape of a bay area for culture.
Mr Lee noted that with the support of the National 14th Five-Year Plan, Hong Kong is dedicated to developing into an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange, and has been steadfastly presenting rich and diverse arts and cultural mega events. Hong Kong will continue to leverage its unique advantages of enjoying strong national support while maintaining unparalleled connectivity with the world under the principle of "one country, two systems", thereby driving its cultural exchanges and co-operation with the Mainland and overseas countries, promoting Chinese culture, and telling the good stories of China on the global stage.
The Deputy Director General of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangdong Province, Ms Zhao Hong, gave her video speech at the ceremony. Officiating guests at today's opening ceremony included the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Cheuk Wing-hing; the Deputy Director General of the Department of Publicity, Cultural and Sports Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Li Shuguang; and the Vice President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau Macao Special Administrative Region, Mr Cheang Kai-Meng.
The opening programme of the 4th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival, "Sound River", featured a new work of the same name written by contemporary renowned Chinese composer and conductor Tan Dun. This concert is also one of the highlight events in celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Under Tan's baton, the concert tonight featured the newly formed Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival Orchestra, comprising over 100 members from the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, and the Macao Orchestra, to perform the world premiere of "Sound River". Sixteen meticulously crafted short videos capturing the vanishing sounds, instruments and culture of the ancient cities along Tan's journey from Europe, through the Arab world to Central Asia, then to the GBA in the past 12 years, were screened during the performance. Through interweaving light, shadow and music, audience members were able to explore the past and future of the "Silk Road of sound". In addition, the concert featured the indigenous singer Wuyuntana and Mainland singer Zhou Shen, who delivered the concert's theme song, bringing the concert to a final climax. The brilliant performance won warm applause from the audiences at the end of the performance.
The concert was broadcast live on various radio, television and online platforms, including RTHK Radio 4 (FM97.6-98.9), RTHK TV32, Phoenix Hong Kong Channel (Channel 85), the Festival website (www.gbacxlo.gov.hk), the RTHK website (www.rthk.hk), Ifeng (www.ifeng.com) and Feng Show APP, allowing audiences around the world to enjoy the evening live performance online and offline at the same time.
This year's Festival, with the theme of "Integration in Diversity – Power and Possibilities", aims to showcase the vibrant and diverse cultural richness of the region and foster cultural exchanges and co-operation among the GBA cities. For detailed information about the rich programme line-up of the Festival, please visit www.gbacxlo.gov.hk.
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