Hongkongers will finally get to ring in 2024 with a bang, with the tourism authority announcing on Tuesday that the city’s traditional New Year countdown fireworks display will be making a full comeback for the first time in five years – with an extra-long extravaganza to celebrate the end of the hiatus.
The 12-minute long “pyromusical” show will be the “biggest and longest” of the city’s countdown fireworks to date, “surpassing all previous editions in Hong Kong in both scale and duration”, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
Set along a 1.3km stretch on Victoria Harbour from Central to Causeway Bay, the fireworks will depict the “changing seasons and the beauty of nature” set to the overarching theme “New Year New Legend”.
Five ships will be employed to launch the pyrotechnics along the harbour, accompanied by an eclectic mix of music from Western classical music to Chinese instrumental tunes and electronic beats.
Tuesday’s announcement follows other large-scale public events which have resumed in 2023 after being suspended or scaled down for several years, as the city government pushes to rekindle Hong Kong’s flagging nighttime economy.
Hongkongers were last treated to countdown fireworks in 2018, with the 2019 show cancelled due to social unrest from the protests that year.
Hong Kong snuffs out hope to bring back fireworks display, opts for lights shows
Hong Kong snuffs out hope to bring back fireworks display, opts for lights shows
The fireworks display did not return for the next three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, the countdown event employed a multimedia light show with laser beams and pyrotechnics from buildings around Victoria Park.
In October, over 430,000 residents flocked to Victoria Harbour for the first National Day fireworks show in five years, which went on for 23 minutes.
This year, as midnight approaches, revellers will get to usher in 2024 with mini firework shows every 15 minutes from 11pm till midnight ahead of the main display, with a massive countdown clock projected onto the waterfront facade of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, HKTB said.
The mini fireworks, known as “wishmaking sessions”, will be launched from Harbour Centre, Harcourt House and Cheung Kong Centre to symbolise love, health, happiness and wealth in the new year.
City dwellers who are unable to join the festivities in person will be able to follow live broadcasts on local television, the HKTB’s Discover Hong Kong website, and social media.
‘Night vibes’ push too limited when it comes to reviving economy
‘Night vibes’ push too limited when it comes to reviving economy
Besides the Victoria Harbour fireworks, there will be a New Year’s Eve market and countdown concert held at Kwun Tong Promenade Garden on December 30 and 31.
The festivities at the promenade will open from 2pm to midnight on both days, with nearly 100 stalls selling food and drinks, while the concert will run from 8pm to midnight on December 31.