To celebrate the 74th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, members of the public may use most of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD)'s fee-charging leisure and cultural facilities for free as individual users on October 1 (Sunday). The event aims at encouraging people to participate in various sport and cultural activities and thereby form good habits, as well as sharing the joy of the special occasion.
Members of the public can make bookings at the Leisure Link booking counters at LCSD venues (except self-service kiosks) and via Internet booking from 7am on September 25 (Monday) onwards, on a first-come, first-served basis, for the free use on October 1 of the available leisure facilities that are not taken up by block bookings (the Leisure Link booking counter services at Tuen Mun Recreation and Sports Centre will start from 7.45am while water sports centres, holiday camps and District Leisure Services Offices will start from 8.30am).
The leisure facilities to be available for free use on October 1 include:
- Indoor leisure facilities: badminton courts, tennis courts, basketball courts, netball courts, volleyball courts, squash courts, table tennis tables, American pool tables, billiard tables, sport climbing walls, bowling greens, golf facilities, fitness rooms*, activity rooms, dance rooms and a cycling track*;
- Outdoor leisure facilities: tennis courts, tennis practice courts, bowling greens, batting cages, sport climbing walls*, archery ranges* and golf facilities (excluding camp facilities, sports grounds and artificial as well as natural turf pitches);
- Public swimming pools (excluding Wan Chai Swimming Pool (only for group training purposes); the swimming pools temporarily closed for annual maintenance, namely the Island East Swimming Pool, Tai Kok Tsui Swimming Pool, Ho Man Tin Swimming Pool, Tung Cheong Street Swimming Pool, Tsing Yi Southwest Swimming Pool and Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Swimming Pool; and Kowloon Tsai Swimming Pool, which is temporarily closed for redevelopment); and
- Craft at water sports centres* (recreational kayaks, pedal-driven boats, sampans and colour boats at Chong Hing Water Sports Centre are available for free use by campers only).
* Citizens who book these types of facilities must hold the relevant qualification certificates. For details, please visit the thematic website at www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/freeuseday/conditions.html.
Each person can only book one free session irrespective of the type of leisure facility. Due to the anticipated high use of online booking services by the public, it may take a longer time for users to log into the system for booking during peak hours in the morning.
No prior booking is required for public swimming pool facilities. Members of the public may line up at the entrances of swimming pools before the start of a session. Free admission is offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
The LCSD appeals to hirers to arrive on time and make the best use of the booked facilities. If a hirer fails to take up a booked session 10 minutes after the starting time, the facility will immediately be reallocated to walk-in participants on a first-come, first-served basis. The facility shall be used for the same purpose as that for which it had been booked by the original hirer. The user shall surrender the facility to the original hirer immediately upon the latter's arrival.
All users of the leisure facilities shall observe the Conditions of Use of LCSD Recreation and Sports Facilities (www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/condition/index.html), including the no-show/not present during the use of the booked sessions ("not present") penalty. A no-show/"not present" record will be filed on the hirer when he or she fails to take up a session as booked without on-time completion of the cancellation procedure, or is not present during the use of the booked sessions. Any two such records within 60 consecutive days will result in suspension of booking rights for any of the LCSD's fee-charging recreation and sports facilities for 90 days.
Please call 2414 5555 for enquiry or visit the thematic website at www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/freeuseday/index.html.
For cultural services, free admission will be offered to the permanent exhibitions of the Hong Kong Science Museum and the Hong Kong Space Museum (except for the Space Theatre's shows) as well as the "Material Tales – The Life of Things" special exhibition at the Hong Kong Science Museum on October 1.
A range of delightful free exhibitions are also available at the Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Hong Kong Museum of History, Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum, Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence, Fireboat Alexander Grantham Exhibition Gallery, Law Uk Folk Museum, Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum, Sheung Yiu Folk Museum, Hong Kong Film Archive, Sam Tung Uk Museum, Oil Street Art Space (Oi!) and Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre that day. Members of the public are welcome to visit to share the joy on this special occasion. For details, please visit the websites of the respective museums. The Hong Kong Railway Museum is still temporarily closed for exhibition enhancement work.
Furthermore, to facilitate the police implementation of the special crowd management measures in Tsim Sha Tsui area for the National Day firework display on October 1, both the Hong Kong Museum of Art and the Hong Kong Space Museum will close at 6pm on that day.
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