Eight outstanding HK programs to be presented at third GBA culture and arts festival

The third Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival, co-organised by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China, the People's Government of Guangdong Province, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government and the Macao SAR Government, was officially launched last night (Sept. 12) at the Guangdong Friendship Theatre in Guangzhou, with distinguished opera artists and troupes from the three places joining hands to present spectacular Chinese opera performances at the opening ceremony.

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) has organised a total of eight splendid arts and cultural programmes in HK and other cities within the Greater Bay Area (GBA) during the Festival period, covering Cantonese opera, music, dance, Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnivals and exhibition, and has engaged local artists and art groups to jointly promote cultural and arts exchanges in the GBA and the Lingnan culture.

On the theme of "Achieve Greater Dreams in the Greater Bay Area", this year's Festival aims to build up iconic cultural brands of the Bay Area by promoting extensive cultural exchanges and co-operation across the territory. Addressing the opening ceremony, the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration of the Hong Kong SAR Government, Cheuk Wing-hing, said this year's Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival is the first large-scale cultural event jointly organised by Guangdong, HK and Macao after the full resumption of normal travel between the Mainland and HK, which marks special importance. Since the Festival was first launched in 2019, cultural departments in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area have been promoting arts and cultural exchanges and co-operation in the GBA as well as the Lingnan culture and the Chinese culture through various kinds of exhibitions and performances.

Cheuk pointed out that the Hong Kong SAR Government is mapping out at full steam a Blueprint for Arts and Culture and Creative Industries Development, enhancing the ecosystem for the relevant industries, with a view to developing HK into an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange under the support of the National 14th Five-Year Plan.

He added that the Hong Kong SAR Government attaches great importance to the arts and cultural exchanges and interactions with the cities in the GBA, and will host the fourth Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival next year. Hong Kong is looking forward to collaborating with the GBA cities to present a wealth of signature arts and cultural programmes from the area so as to enhance the cultural soft power in the GBA, with a view to fully implementing the objective of "Jointly Developing a Cultured Bay Area".

From now until Wednesday (Oct. 11), various fascinating programmes of the Festival will be staged in 11 cities within the GBA, showcasing the new vitality of the Cultured Bay Area.

Rich and diverse programmes with HK presence are included in this year's Festival. In addition to those with local traditional characteristics, namely the "Chinese Opera Festival 2023: Bless This Land - Cantonese Opera Showcase under the Bamboo Theatre at Victoria Park" and the Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnivals that will be held at Victoria Park as well as the "Exhibition on Documents Collection of the Hong Kong Central Library", local art groups will also perform their outstanding works in various cities within the GBA, which include the Actors' Family's "The Lily of the Valley" and the Musicus Society's "Dream of the Red Chamber Capriccio & Romantic Cello Works" by Trey Lee. The "Art>

Next year, the Hong Kong SAR Government will host the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival for the first time. The LCSD will be responsible for the planning of the entire Festival. By adopting an innovative and multifaceted collaborative approach to co-ordinate the high-quality cultural and arts resources within Guangdong, HK and Macao, an array of captivating performances will be presented by top-notch artists and art groups from the GBA and overseas. Also, by proactively leveraging Hong Kong's role as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange, the LCSD plans to invite art groups from the GBA to co-produce works with local artists for promoting creativity and talent exchanges, and for showcasing the cultural modernity and diversity of the Bay Area.