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The Government announced today (January 8) that the Mega Events Fund (MEF) Assessment Committee (AC), after deliberation on the fifth round of applications under the Tier-2 Scheme, has earmarked a maximum of $5.5 million to support an event, namely Lumières Hong Kong. It also announced that the sixth round of applications will open on January 11.
"After careful deliberation, the MEF AC has earmarked a maximum of $5.5 million to support Lumières Hong Kong. The MEF AC considers that this mega event will help enhance Hong Kong's international profile and reinforce the city's status as the events capital of Asia. It will add colour and vibrancy to Hong Kong and attract more visitors to our city," a Government spokesman said.
Lumières Hong Kong is organised by the Association Culturelle France Hong Kong Limited, and will be staged in Central and Western District in November 2016. This event will help promote Hong Kong's history and culture through light projection and effects as well as light installations on selected buildings. The organiser expects that hundreds of thousands of local and non-local spectators will be attracted to the event.
Under the sixth round of the MEF under its Tier-2 Scheme, for which applications will open on January 11, eligible local non-profit-making organisations are invited to apply for MEF funding support to organise mega arts, cultural, sports and entertainment events to be held in Hong Kong on or before March 31, 2017.
Applications will close at noon on February 12, 2016. Application details, including the application form, the guide to application and some frequently asked questions, are available on the MEF's dedicated website (www.tourism.gov.hk/english/mef/mef_tier2.html). Completed application forms should be sent to the Secretariat of the Mega Events Fund Assessment Committee at 22/F, West Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong.
A briefing session for those who are interested in applying for MEF funding support will be held on January 21 at 4pm at the Training cum Lecture Room, 5/F, West Wing, Central Government Offices, 2 Tim Mei Avenue, Tamar, Hong Kong, to enable them to better understand the requirements of the MEF. For reservation of seats for the briefing session, please contact the MEF AC Secretariat on or before January 15 by telephone (2810 2500) or email (mefsecretariat@cedb.gov.hk).
The MEF AC, chaired by Mr Jeffrey Lam and comprising members from the relevant sectors, is responsible for considering the MEF applications and monitoring the progress of the MEF-supported events. In assessing the applications, the MEF AC has taken/will take into account a number of factors, including the expected 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 technical feasibility of the events; and the reasonableness of the budget. For details, please refer to the assessment criteria for applications and the scoring guideline for assessment, which are available on the MEF's dedicated website.
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 two-tier 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.
Ends/Friday, January 8, 2016
Issued at HKT 17:02
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