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The Government announced today (February 28) that the Mega Events Fund (MEF) Assessment Committee, after deliberation of the third round of applications, has earmarked a maximum of $5.5 million to support the 2014 Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival to be held in early June 2014.
"After careful deliberation, the MEF Assessment Committee has decided to support the 2014 Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival. This mega event played a pivotal role in our events calendars in previous years, which helped enhance Hong Kong's international profile and raised our status as the events capital of Asia. It will continue to add colour and vibrancy to Hong Kong and attract more visitors to our city," a Government spokesman said.
"It is expected that over 240 000 visitors and locals will participate in this event."
The Carnival is jointly organised by the Hong Kong China Dragon Boat Association and the Hong Kong Tourism Board, and will be staged at Victoria Harbour along the Tsim Sha Tsui East promenade from June 6 to 8. This year, the Carnival will comprise various exciting events including the Hong Kong International Dragon Boat Races and a BeerFest. The Carnival is expected to attract more than 240 000 participants, including over 66 000 visitors.
"Another event, which the MEF Assessment Committee in principle supported in May last year, could not receive funding support as the relevant application subsequently could not fulfil the open assessment criteria of the MEF," the spokesman added.
The MEF Assessment Committee, chaired by Mr Jeffrey Lam and comprising members from the relevant fields, is responsible for considering the applications and monitoring the progress of the MEF-funded events. In assessing the applications, the Committee has taken into account a number of factors, including economic, publicity and other benefits of the events; the scale of the events; the background, governance structure, resources, capability and track record of the applicants; the feasibility of the events; and the reasonableness of the budget.
The MEF was established in 2009 for a term of three years. An allocation of $150 million was made in 2012-13 to extend the operation of the MEF for five years under a modified two-tier scheme. Under the new scheme, Tier 1 aims to attract internationally acclaimed mega events to Hong Kong, and Tier 2 is an enhanced version of the previous scheme which aims to provide funding support to local non-profit-making organisations to host mega arts, culture, sports and entertainment events in Hong Kong.
The fourth round of applications under Tier 2 will commence in the first half of 2014. For details of the fund, please visit the MEF dedicated website (www.tourism.gov.hk/english/mef/mef_tier2.html). Interested parties are also welcome to contact the Secretariat to the MEF Assessment Committee (Tel: 2810 2500; fax: 2121 8791; email: mefsecretariat@cedb.gov.hk).
Ends/Friday, February 28, 2014
Issued at HKT 16:30
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