HKT and West Kowloon Cultural District Proudly Present "HKT x WESTK POPFEST"

• City’s largest pop music festival with more than 70 ticketed and free performances over two weeks
• Over 200 performers of different music genres and styles including Juno Mak, Yoyo Sham, Ivana Wong, Charmaine Fong, Janice Vidal and others
• Finale performances by Edan Lui, Ian Chan, Keung To and Anson Lo from MIRROR

The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (the Authority or WKCDA) and HKT joined together to proudly present Hong Kong’s largest pop music festival, “HKT x WESTK POPFEST” (POPFEST), which will take place from 22 March to 2 April 2023. With HKT being the title sponsor and WKCDA Performing Arts team as curator and producer, the inaugural POPFEST features more than 70 ticketed and free daily performances of different genres and styles over 10 music-packed days. Exciting performances by over 200 singers, bands and musicians will span across the indoor and outdoor venues of the West Kowloon Cultural District (the District or WKCD), including Freespace, Art Park, Wonderland and M+. POPFEST is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors over the 10-day period and is set to become the biggest music event presenting local musicians and artists staged in Hong Kong.

Blending pop culture with artistic creation, POPFEST aspires to create an extraordinary experience for the audience through unique cross-disciplinary collaborations. A variety of ticketed events will be staged in Freespace, Wonderland and M+ including: HKT x WESTK POPFEST: Popnorama, featuring crossover performances by 17 groups of mainstream and indie musicians; HKT x WESTK POPFEST: I Am What I Am – A tribute to Leslie Cheung, paying tribute to and commemorating the 20th anniversary of the passing of the Cantopop legend; HKT x WESTK POPFEST: Unboxed, hosting a series of four thematic music parties; HKT x WESTK POPFEST: M+ Live Cinema presents “Dragon’s Delusion – Paracusia” blending POPFEST with M+. What’s more, a series of free live music sessions and events will be staged at the Great Lawn and Harbourside Lawn East of the Art Park and Lau Bak Livehouse throughout the POPFEST period, while HKT x WESTK POPFEST: Disco Night as part of the “M+ at Night”, featuring classic Hong Kong hits of the 1980s, will be held at M+.

Tickets of all ticketed programmes (excluding HKT x WESTK POPFEST: M+ Live Cinema presents “Dragon’s Delusion – Paracusia”) will go on sale at 10am on 24 February 2023 at Cityline. Pre-registration is required for some of the free programmes, details of which will be announced later.

Betty Fung, Chief Executive Officer of WKCDA said, “The WKCDA is fully committed to promoting the development of local arts and culture and nurturing talent. Riding on the success of the Freespace Happening in early years and the four editions of Freespace Jazz Fest from 2019 onwards, we are thrilled to present another large-scale outdoor music festival in WKCD in 2023, with crossovers between pop music and contemporary visual arts for the first time. Leveraging the unique cultural resources at WKCD, notably its spectacular harbourfront location, enormous open space and our professional performing arts team, we aspire to provide a fabulous platform for local and overseas musicians to showcase their talent and foster cross-disciplinary collaborations. Thanks to HKT’s generous support, the HKT x WESTK POPFEST allows music and culture lovers from Hong Kong, the Mainland and around the world to enjoy a breathtaking array of performances and to immerse in the vibrant local music scene as the city fully reopens to the world.”

Susanna Hui, Group Managing Director, HKT said, “HKT has made use of creativity and innovation to connect people and enhance their quality of life throughout its history of more than 150 years in Hong Kong. We are delighted to collaborate with WKCD and a group of talented musicians and artists to create the largest music festival in Hong Kong, marking a new milestone for Hong Kong’s art and culture industry. We hope that HKT x WESTK POPFEST enables people from all walks of life to enjoy a brand-new music experience and showcase the power of our culture on the international stage, attracting visitors to feel the vibes of Hong Kong as a city of events.”

Three days of music magic at Wonderland with finale shows by MIRROR members

A major highlight of the programme, HKT x WESTK POPFEST: Popnorama will be staged at the District’s outdoor performance venue Wonderland, showcasing 17 groups of local mainstream and indie musicians with exciting crossover collaboration between singers, singer-songwriters and bands. Bringing together musicians and vocalists from different backgrounds, the concerts will take Hong Kong’s music scene in new and exciting directions. These new-generation musicians with diverse styles are being brought together to break down barriers and blur the lines between mainstream and indie music, with a vision to demonstrate how global music can combine with local culture to redefine the vibrancy, diversity and possibilities of Hong Kong’s pop music scene. Highlights include:

• Juno Mak x Olivier Cong;
• Yoyo Sham x Joyce Cheung;
• Ivana Wong x Tsui Chin-hung;
• Charmaine Fong x Ho Shan;
• Winka and Marf from COLLAR x iii (Iris Liu);
• hirsk x cehryl;
• Kaho Hung x Gordon Flanders;
• R.O.O.T x On Chan

And to bring things to an exciting close, Edan Lui, Ian Chan, Keung To and Anson Lo – four members of Hong Kong’s most popular boy band, MIRROR – will give the closing performances on 1 and 2 April 2023 (Saturday and Sunday), taking the festival experience to a new level.

Memorial concerts at The Box to pay tribute to pop music legend Leslie Cheung

A special programme of three performances, HKT x WESTK POPFEST: I Am What I Am – A tribute to Leslie Cheung, will be held at The Box at Freespace from 30 March to 1 April 2023 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the passing of this icon of Cantopop music. Featuring rising pianist Daniel Chu as music director, and Janice Vidal and up-and-coming music producer Walter Kwan as vocalists, the concert will reinterpret classic songs from different periods of Cheung's life, allowing the audience to relive the unique charisma and distinctive aesthetics of this pop legend, and reflect on the far-reaching impact he had on the local music scene.

Unboxed the Box – Marrying black box theatre with experimental pop music

The Box at Freespace will also host four different thematic music parties under the banner HKT x WESTK POPFEST: Unboxed from 25 to 26 March 2023, marrying the avant-garde spirit of black box theatre with some of the city’s most exciting music genres and styles. Kicking off with Merry Lamb Lamb, Rock Hill Street and Kiri T's electronic music, the first session on day one will be "REVERB", a party of electronic pop with psychedelic visuals; followed by "FREQUENCY", presenting three sets of pop music in modern styles with female music curators Anna hisbbuR, CHANKA, Sophy Wong x Kendy Suen. The first session on day two, "ECHO", will energise the audience with the feminine power of Shoujo Pop, swing and electronic metal music performances by Goodnight, Lillie, WHIZZ and FIESTER respectively. This will be followed by "DISTORT", a series of performances including anime style music by mansonvibes x Lagchun, Otome Syndream, and Mike Orange x UCHU YUREI.

Art meets POPFEST for first time at M+ fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration

As the city’s newest and most diverse arts and cultural landmark, the WKCD is dedicated to promoting cross-disciplinary collaborations across various artistic and cultural entities. For the first time ever, the Authority is integrating this pop music festival into M+. On 1 and 2 April 2023, HKT x WESTK POPFEST: M+ Live Cinema presents “Dragon’s Delusion – Paracusia” will turn the Grand Stair of M+, Asia’s first global museum of contemporary visual culture, into a performing arts stage. The programme will present the highly stylised animated comics of animation artist Kongkee, using GIFs and animated clips to explore the freedom and limitations of human bodies and souls in the era of artificial intelligence. The visuals will be accompanied by live music performed by the Freespace Ensemble, reinterpreting traditional Chinese music with post-punk energy to evoke the hidden power of visuals in music performances.

M+ will also host HKT x WESTK POPFEST: Disco Night in “M+ at Night” featuring classic Hong Kong hits. The evening brings a series of creative workshops, talk, special tours and more inspired by Cantopop, inviting participants to experience the connections between visual culture from the 80s and our everyday live. HKT x WESTK POPFEST: Disco Night is free of charge. Pre-registration is required for this complimentary programme and details will be announced in due course.

In addition to the concerts highlighted above, a series of complimentary live music sessions and events will be held at the WKCD Great Lawn, Harbourside Lawn East of the Art Park and Lau Bak Livehouse throughout the POPFEST period. More details of the complimentary programmes will be unveiled in early March.

FWD Insurance, 1O1O, csl, The Club, DrGo Health Store, eye, HKT Enterprise Solutions, NETVIGATOR, Now TV, Tap & Go, Samsung Electronics HK are the co-sponsors of HKT x WESTK POPFEST.

Commercial Radio Hong Kong is the media partner of HKT x WESTK POPFEST.

For the latest programme information and ticketing arrangements for POPFEST, please visit https://www.westkowloon.hk/popfest.

Remarks

About the West Kowloon Cultural District
The 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 on 40 hectares of reclaimed land located alongside Victoria Harbour. With a varied mix of theatres, performance spaces, and museums, the West Kowloon Cultural District will produce and host world-class exhibitions, performances and cultural events, providing 23 hectares of public open space, including a two-kilometre waterfront promenade.

About HKT
HKT is a technology, media, and telecommunication leader with more than 150 years of history in Hong Kong. As the city’s true 5G provider, HKT connects businesses and people locally and globally. Our end-to-end enterprise solutions make us a market-leading digital transformation partner of choice for businesses; whereas our comprehensive mobile communication and smart living offerings enrich people‘s lives and cater for their diverse needs for work, entertainment, education, well-being, and even a sustainable low-carbon lifestyle. Together with our digital ventures which support digital economy development and help connect Hong Kong to the world as an international financial centre, HKT endeavours to contribute to smart city development and help our community tech forward. 

For more information, please visit www.hkt.com.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/hkt

Appendix: Programme details of "HKT x WESTK POPFEST"

Ticketing details and notice to ticket buyers:

• Tickets for the three ticketed programmes “HKT x WESTK POPFEST: Unboxed”, “HKT x WESTK POPFEST: Popnorama” and “HKT x WESTK POPFEST: I Am What I Am – A tribute to Leslie Cheung” are available from 24 February 2023 (Friday) at 10:00am via Cityline. Tickets are not available at ticket offices on the first day of sale. Website of Cityline: http://www.cityline.com, telephone booking hotline: (852) 2111 5333.
• 100 sets of “3-day Pass” are available for "HKT x WESTK POPFEST: Popnorama” on a first-come, first-served basis.
• On the first day of ticket sale, a maximum of 4 tickets can be purchased for each of the above three programmes per transaction.

Ticketed programmes

HKT x WESTK POPFEST: Unboxed
The Box at Freespace will marry the avant-garde spirit of black box theatre with some of the city’s most experimental pop, presenting four different themed music parties. Audiences could enjoy colorful musical surprises and visual effects by a live VJ.

25 March 2023 (Saturday) “REVERB”

25 March 2023 (Saturday) “FREQUENCY”

26 March 2023 (Sunday) “ECHO”

26 March 2023 (Sunday) “DISTORT”

HKT x WESTK POPFEST: Popnorama
A three-day outdoor festival will be staged at the District’s outdoor performance venue Wonderland, showcasing exciting crossover collaborations between 17 groups of local mainstream and indie musicians, including singers, singer-songwriters and bands, featuring unique line ups from different backgrounds and nurturing new directions. New-generation musicians with diverse styles are being brought together to break down barriers and blur the lines between mainstream and indie music, with a vision to demonstrate how global music can combine with local culture perfectly.

31 March 2023 (Friday)

1 April 2023 (Saturday)

2 April 2023 (Sunday)

HKT x WESTK POPFEST: I Am What I Am – A tribute to Leslie Cheung
Music director Daniel Chu and vocalists Janice Vidal and Walter Kwan will reinterpret Cheung’s classic songs from different periods of Cheung’s life, allowing the audience to relive the unique charisma and distinctive aesthetics of this pop legend and reflect on the far-reaching impact he had on the local music scene.

HKT x WESTK POPFEST: M+ Live Cinema presents “Dragon’s Delusion – Paracusia”
HKT x WESTK POPFEST: M+ Live Cinema presents “Dragon’s Delusion – Paracusia” continues M+’s experimental approach in presenting interwoven experiences of moving image, sound, and live performance. Featurng the works of Kongkee and a live improvisational performance by the Freespace Ensemble, this new commission is part of the Live Cinema programme series presented by M+ since 2018.

Other free events and programmes:

• A series of free live music sessions and events will be held at the Great Lawn and Harbourside Lawn East of the Art Park between 1 and 2 April 2023, offering a wide variety of music.
• On 31 March 2023, M+ will host HKT x WESTK POPFEST: Disco Night in “M+ at Night”, featuring classic Hong Kong hits. The evening brings a series of creative workshops, talk, special tours, and more inspired by Cantopop, inviting participants to experience the connections between visual culture from the 80s and our everyday live. Details will be announced in due course.
• Visitors can enjoy free live music at Lau Bak Livehouse from 22 to 26 March 2023 and 29 March to 2 April 2023 at night.