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A total of 600,000 tickets for the "Animated Version of the Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival" exhibition sold out in six days after ticket sales began on October 19, indicating overwhelming response from the public.
A spokesman for the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) thanked the public again today (October 25) for their enthusiastic support. He said that having examined the operational and logistical factors including transport and manpower arrangements, the department had decided to provide an additional 48 viewing sessions during the three-week exhibition period to meet the strong public demand. As a result, about 168,000 admission tickets for these additional viewing sessions will be put on sales this Thursday (October 28) at 41 URBTIX outlets with each purchase limited to a maximum of eight tickets.
The spokesman said that due to the smaller number of tickets available for sale in the second round, setting the purchase limit at eight tickets would enable more people to buy tickets for their immediate families. He explained that the limits for the first round of tickets had been set at 20 for the first day and 40 from the second day onwards to allow members of the public to buy tickets for the same sessions for their families, relatives and friends, as well as local organisations to buy tickets for their members.
"During the exhibition period between November 9 and 29, there will be two additional evening viewing sessions daily, from 9pm to 10pm and 10pm to 11pm, and one additional morning session on Saturdays and Sundays from 9am to 10am," the spokesman added.
He urged the public to grab the opportunity to buy tickets at URBTIX outlets while stocks last. Ticket sales through the Internet and telephone booking will be available from October 29 (Friday).
To cater for students and social welfare organisations, the LCSD has arranged for 200,000 free tickets for group visits to be organised by schools and social welfare organisations. Group visits are confined to weekdays between Monday and Friday. Schools and welfare organisations may send their applications to the Hong Kong Science Museum. The Hong Kong Council of Social Service will assist in co-ordinating the applications of their member organisations.
As of today, a total of 1,380 applications requesting about 195,000 tickets had been received since application for the free tickets started on October 12. The department is processing these applications and has been informing the applicant organisations of the results since last Friday.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has generously supported the exhibition by offering full sponsorship for the special "River of Wisdom Exhibition - Jockey Club Transport Subsidy Scheme". Under this scheme, group visits organised by schools and social welfare organisations that have secured free group tickets can enjoy a subsidy in hiring coach services.
Application forms for free admission and the "River of Wisdom Exhibition - Jockey Club Transport Subsidy Scheme" can be downloaded from the website at hk.qingmingriverside.hk. Applications will be processed on a first-come-first-served basis. For enquiries on group visits organised by schools and social welfare organisations, please call the Hong Kong Science Museum at 2732 3294.
The "River of Wisdom - Animated Version of the Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival" will bring to Hong Kong the spectacular exhibition shown at the China Pavilion of World Expo 2010 Shanghai China. The exhibition will be co-organised by the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination and the LCSD. The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust will be the exclusive sponsor of the exhibition.
To be held at the AsiaWorld-Expo, Hong Kong International Airport, from November 9 to 29, the exhibition will open from 10am to 11pm from Monday to Friday and from 9am to 11pm on Sundays and Saturdays. Each viewing session will last for one hour. The admission fee is set at $10. Children under four years old will be admitted free. For enquiries on ticketing, please call the URBTIX hotline at 2734 9009.
For more details about the exhibition, ticketing and transportation arrangements, please visit the website at hk.qingmingriverside.hk . For enquiries, please call 1823.
Ends/Monday, October 25, 2010
Issued at HKT 19:29
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