77th Board Meeting of West Kowloon Cultural District Authority

The Board of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) held its 77th meeting today.
 

WKCDA’s Chief Executive Officer Mr Duncan Pescod reported that the M+ building was topped out and a ceremony was heldat the M+ site on 30 November to commemorate the significant milestone in the development of M+ as a world-class museum and as a major cultural institution for Hong Kong. This event also marked a crucial moment in the countdown to the museum’s planned opening in 2020. The top-out of the M+ building was an important step on the road to realisation of the West Kowloon Cultural District (West Kowloon) project, coming right before the opening of the Xiqu Centre early next year. WKCDA can now demonstrate that the project is well on its way.
 

For the Xiqu Centre, the Substantial Completion Certificate was issued to the works contractor in November 2018. The facilities management and Performing Arts teams have gradually taken over the site in preparation for the opening on 20 January 2019.  Before that, a stage dedication ceremony will be held on 30 December 2018 by the Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong, featuring two specially selected ritual performances ─ Birthday of the God of Venusand Prime Minister of Six States, in accordance with the custom of the xiqu sector.
 

The Stage Dedication Day will be followed by a week of Open Days with an array of free programmes designed to allow the public to participate in the final stages of testing and preparation leading up to the opening. The free programmes will take place between 30 December 2018 and 6 January 2019.Online registration for complimentary tickets opened on 11 December. Over 5,500 tickets were allocated to the general public within 2 hours of being made available. A limited number of tickets will be available for the public at the Xiqu Centre ticket office from 10am on the day of each performance.
 

Mr Pescod was pleased to report that WKCDA has received a silver award for the “Excellence in Use of Technology” category at the Marketing Excellence Awards, recognising our innovative use of Virtual Reality technology in promoting the Xiqu Centre to the public prior to the opening of the venue.
 

Works at the Art Park and the Freespace building are in their final phases. It is aimed to open up the next section of the Park and Promenade at the end of this year, with the Freespace opening celebrations scheduled for May next year. For the construction of Growing Up, the winning Pavilion design in the Hong Kong Young Architects and Designers Competition, it is now underway with completion aimed for early next year.
 

Members also noted that this month's Freespace Happening, with open air cinema, was held on 8 and 9 December, attracting an attendance of nearly 4,800. Next Freespace Happening will take place on 13 January 2019.
 

Remarks

About West Kowloon Cultural District

Located on Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour, West Kowloon Cultural District is one of the largest cultural projects in the world. Its vision is to create a vibrant new cultural quarter for Hong Kong. With a complex of theatres, performance spaces and museums, the West Kowloon Cultural District will produce and host world-class exhibitions, performances and cultural events, as well as provide 23 hectares of public open space, including a two-kilometre waterfront promenade.