Big Smog for Time Out HK

It Happened Here: Harbour Fest

In late 2003 Admiralty’s harbour-fronting Tamar site played host to one of Hong Kong’s biggest ever music festivals. Organised as a way of attracting tourists and positive press after SARS, Harbour Fest aimed to repair the city’s tainted image, bringing in big names and being broadcast into US homes.

Billed as “a dazzling series of live shows catering to all tastes and ages”, the organising committee, InvestHK, was off to a solid start. Acts like Gipsy Kings, Santana, and Neil Young, promised a stellar line-up, and the legendary The Rolling Stones were tapped for the finale.

But before the sound systems had even warmed up, the high hopes for the festival began to fall. Concert costs steadily rose, Cantopop acts Nicholas Tse, Andy Hui, and Joey Yung were mysteriously cut from the bill, and disappointing ticket sales led to the handing out of free tickets for performances from Twins and t.A.T.u, which resulted in violent scuffles outside ticket vendors.

Following the festival, an independent inquiry found almost every act was overpaid (The Rolling Stones received US$5m), the total overrun stood at HK$13.3m, and the festival reached only 600,000 US homes, 0.6 per cent of the targeted 100 million. A survey conducted by the Democratic Party found 50 per cent of those polled believed it was a colossal waste of money, which, on these numbers, doesn’t seem that far off the mark.

Sarah Simpson