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A series of celebration activities will be held in Hong Kong on Thursday (October 1) to mark the 60th Anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Major celebration activities include a flag-raising ceremony and a reception, as well as a National Day Carnival and a fireworks display in the evening.
A flag-raising ceremony will be held at 8am at the Golden Bauhinia Square outside the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) in Wan Chai. The Acting Chief Executive, Mr Wong Yan Lung, SC, will join about 2,500 people at the ceremony. They include invited guests, senior government officials, and members of youth uniformed groups and community groups.
The police band and a mixed choir of Diocesan Boys School and Diocesan Girls School will play and sing the national anthem at the ceremony, followed by a sea parade and a fly-past by the disciplined services.
People are welcome to watch the ceremony at a designated area with a capacity of about 1,000 viewers. Four plasma TVs and an LED display will be set up to facilitate public viewing of the ceremony.
To ensure the smooth running of the flag-raising ceremony, people at the designated area have to observe the regulations and directions given by the authorities on site.
Hosted by the Acting Chief Executive, the National Day reception will be held after the flag-raising ceremony at the Grand Hall of HKCEC. About 4,000 guests, including members of the Executive and Legislative Councils, consular corps, senior government officials, community group leaders and members of various community sectors, are invited to the reception.
In addition to the police band and the mixed school choir, the Four Gig Heads Percussion Group and the Hong Kong Dance Federation will give music and dancing performances at the reception.
To share the joy of the 60th anniversary with the public, the Home Affairs Department and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department will jointly hold a National Day Carnival at Victoria Park at 3pm. Admission is free. The carnival will include a variety show; game booths set up by the 18 districts; clown and magic performances; exhibitions with themes of the 60th anniversary, including spectacular lantern displays, exhibitions of winning entries of the 18 districts drawing competition and bunting design competition.
In the evening, a spectacular fireworks display to celebrate the National Day, sponsored by the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, will start at 8pm. It will last about 23 minutes.
People planning to watch the flag-raising ceremony and fireworks display on either side of the harbour are requested to behave in a safe and orderly manner and follow the advice of police officers. They should also pay attention to the special traffic arrangements for the National Day celebration activities announced by the police.
Ends/Monday, September 28, 2009
Issued at HKT 16:01
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