bc magazine

Soccer Sevens Return

Defending back-to-back champions Newcastle United and six-time winners Aston Villa headline the Premier League clubs competing at this weekend’s Soccer Sevens, which returns for the first time in four years.

This year’s Soccer Sevens is the 21st edition of the competition, first held in 1999, and runs from 26-28 May featuring 26 teams across a main event and masters tournaments at Hong Kong Football Club.

Sixteen teams will compete in the main competition, with Aston Villa looking to win a record-extending seventh title and their first since 2016, while Newcastle will be aiming to become the first club to win the trophy at three consecutive events.

“We are delighted to be returning to the HKFC Soccer Sevens,” Mark Harrison, Aston Villa’s academy manager, said. “We are looking forward to defending our record at the tournament and our players and staff are excited to come and experience all that the tournament has to offer.”

Other clubs coming to take part include Leicester City, who have won the event twice, as well as Brighton & Hove Albion and Fulham.

They will be joined by Scottish giants Rangers as well as a Hong Kong Football Association representative side, while domestic champions Kitchee and WoFoo Tai Po will fly the flag for the city’s top flight.

In the master’s tournament, the Citi All Stars will take on defending champions Wallsend Boys Club in a 10-team event that will also boast sides representing the Portuguese Football Association and the Professional Footballers’ Association.

Neil Jensen, the HKFC chairman, said the club was “absolutely thrilled” to bring the Soccer Sevens back to the city “The last three years have been challenging for everyone, but the love of football runs deep in Hong Kong and we are looking forward to seeing some of the finest young talent in the global game back on the pitch at Hong Kong Football Club.”

Match schedule here

Soccer Sevens
Date: 26-28 May, 2023
Venue: HK Football Club
Tickets: $200 (Weekend pass), $120 (Day ticket), Free (Friday night)
More info:
22 May (Fri): 6 – 9pm; exhibition youth matches start at 4.30pm
23 May (Sat): 9am – 7.40pm
24 May (Sun): 8:30am – 6pm

Asia Rugby Championship 2023

The 12th edition of the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship kicks off in Almaty, Kazakhstan on 23 May, with Japan, Hong Kong, and Kazakhstan competing for the title of Champions of Asia. The winner and runner-up will earn qualification for the new World Rugby three-tier annual global women’s international 15s competition WXV.

The Asia Rugby Women’s Championship began in 2006 with hosts China winning the inaugural tournament in Kunming. Since then, Kazakhstan has won five times, Japan four times, and China and Hong Kong China once each.

This year’s Asia Rugby Champion will qualify for WXV2 in 2023, and the runner-up will compete in WXV3. Additionally, WXV will provide a pathway to Rugby World Cup 2025, with at least the top five non-qualified teams at the end of WXV 2024 earning qualification for the tournament.

The first match on May 23rd will feature Hong Kong (ranked 15th) taking on hosts Kazakhstan (ranked 19th) at the Almaty Sports Training Complex, Abaya Almaty at 16:00 (+6 GMT) the winner will face Japan in the final on May 28th at the same venue at 15:00 local time.

The Asia Rugby Women’s Championship 2023 will be live-streamed on Asia Rugby’s Facebook page and YouTube channel, AsiaRugbyLive.

WXV 2

Asia Rugby Women’s Champion will compete in the WXV 2 competition which will consist of six teams, playing in a cross-pool format. Participating teams for 2023 will include two teams from Europe, the fourth-placed team from the Pacific Four Series, alongside one team from Oceania, Asia and Africa.

The sixth-placed regional position in the WXV 2 competition at the end of each season will be relegated to WXV 3.

WXV 3

Runner-up of the competition we play in WXV 3 which will also be played as a cross-pool format, made up of six teams: two from Europe and one from Asia, Oceania, Africa and South America. The regional position of the winner of WXV 3 will be promoted to WXV 2 and the bottom team will play off against the next best-ranked side, according to the World Rugby Women’s Rankings powered by Capgemini on the Monday after the final match of WXV that year.

Asia Rugby Women’s Championship 2023

23rd May
Game 1 Hong Kong China v Kazakhstan Live Link
KO 16:00 (2pm HK time)

28th May -Final
Final: Japan v (Winner of Game 1) Live Link
KO 15:00

Hong Kong v Kazakhstan
Asia Rugby Championship 2023
Date: 4pm, 23 May, 2023
Venue: Almaty, Kazakhstan

Additional reporting: Asia Rugby
Images: HKrugby

Heathers the Musical Live in Hong Kong

Welcome to Westerberg High, where cliques rule, jocks dominate and all the popular girls are named Heather. It’s going to take a Veronica and a mysterious new kid to give teen angst a body count and reveal that everyone fears being a nobody, but it’s murder being a somebody…

In 2010, Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy turned the iconic 1988 movie Heathers, starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, into a musical – Heathers the Musical. And as illogical as it sounds mostly it works, there’s even a film version.

To celebrate their 10th Anniversary local music school Amusix is bringing Heathers the Musical live to Hong Kong on the 13-14 May at The Box, Freespace in West Kowloon. Director Joul Jacquin spoke to bc magazine about his new production.

What attracted you to put on Heather’s the Musical in Hong Kong?
I’m not a big fan of musicals. I thought that Grease was my only favorite. But the soundtrack of Heathers is wonderful. As a music school for over 10 years, we’ve done many types of performances from bar shows to big venues, to touring around Asia. A bigger project was the next step to celebrate 10 years of the school. The major thing about this show is that the music is played live by the students of Amusix, in a rock band formation.

Have you made any ‘local’ changes to make the show more relevant?
Not really, the talented cast is very eclectic due to HK’s multicultural society.

The film the musical is based on is quite old, do you think it still resonates with a very changed modern youth who exist on social media?
We’ve made a few changes to make it modern, but otherwise, the problems are still the same: ‘popular’ girls, bullies, anorexia, and people who don’t even know you exist. The High School Society.

What were you looking for when casting?
Characters that match at best the role and are ready to spend 6 months on a project. And I think we did pretty well on that. I love this cast. They know what compromise for each other. means.

Can you introduce yourself and Amusix to our readers?
I have been a gweilo in HK for +17 years now. As BC magazine readers know, I was the frontman of a band called Dr. Eggs till it was over my head and I chose to spend more time on productions with young artists at Amusix. We are not only coaching music but we are producing some of them. Let’s say I’m sharing my experience from the past with them. They are fresh. They want to go. They want to play.

What do you hope the audience can draw from the show?
Heathers remind you how important decisions you take are important for your life. Be kind to your friends and also to your enemies. This is a micro-society. Be good for everyone. Be sunshine. it will always pay.

Heathers the Musical
Date: 13-14 May 2023
Venue: The Box, Freespace, West Kowloon Cultural District
Tickets: $450, $280 from Amusix

Police Seize ‘Pillar of Shame’

The Hong Kong national security police have seized a sculpture created to commemorate the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in connection with a subversion investigation. The sculpture, known as the “Pillar of Shame,” was confiscated from the Kadoorie Centre in Yuen Long, an agricultural research facility run by the University of Hong Kong (HKU), on Friday.

The seizure of the “Pillar of Shame” has sparked outrage from human rights groups and the artistic community. The sculpture was created by Danish artist Jens Galschiot and erected on the campus of HKU in 1997 as a symbol of democracy and human rights, and as a tribute to the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre. The sculpture has since become an important landmark for activists and pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong.

According to a source familiar with the case, the police used a subversion investigation as a pretext to seize the sculpture, raising serious questions about the state of artistic freedom in Hong Kong. The seizure of the sculpture has been condemned by NGO DEI (我地), which has called for the immediate return of the “Pillar of Shame” and for the Hong Kong authorities to respect artistic freedom….

Continue reading the full article at HK01

image: vawongsir

Hong Kong’s Women’s Ice Hockey Team Win Gold!

Hong Kong’s women’s ice hockey team made history this weekend by winning gold for the first time at the 2023 IIHF Women´s World Championship Division III Group A in Brasov, Romania.

Hong Kong, with seven debutants in their squad and the only non-European team in the six-team competition, defeated Estonia 3-0 in their final group match, securing 13 points with 4 wins out of 5 games.

The victory completed a successful four-week medal spree on European ice for the Hong Kong hockey program in World Championship play. In March, the men´s national team finished third to win its first medal in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina. One month on and in wintry surroundings at the foot of the Southern Carpathians, the women´s team continued to write hockey history in Romania. A common denominator for both successful national teams, Russian head coach Nikita Smirnov.

“The last time I worked with the women´s team was at the 2020 World Championship Division III in Sofia, Bulgaria. Now three years later we have a different team with a lot of new players. With players coming from North America and Asia we met in Europe and just had a couple of practices before our first game,” said Smirnov.

Kiera Mok — 15-year-old debutant Keira Mok selected as the top goalkeeper of the tournament

Having comfortably beaten Bulgaria 6-2 in their opener, Hong Kong´s key win came against Ukraine. Head coach Smirnov opted to give 15-year-old debutant Keira Mok a start as netminder. It turned out to be a masterstroke with on-song Mok selected as the top goalkeeper of the tournament by the directorate. With the Ukrainians dominating proceedings and outshooting Hong Kong 31-10 during the first 40 minutes of play – it was Mok´s inspiring goaltending that kept Hong Kong in the game.

As the third period wore on, Hong Kong worked themselves into the game. Estelle Ip broke the deadlock for Hong Kong at 46:23 on an assist by Renee Ng. With Ukraine relentlessly charging ahead in their hunt for an equalizing goal, debutant Iris Li poached to double Hong Kong´s lead just over four minutes later. Polina Telehina then pulled one back for Ukraine with 6:37 left to play. In a last desperate attempt, Ukraine yanked goalie Viktoria Tkachenko with 50 seconds to go. Hong Kong held on for a massive confidence-boosting win!

“Ukraine is a strong team but I was impressed with our team who worked very hard and played well. With our new generation, it was hard to know before the tournament what to expect. But our ambition has been to win each game,” said Smirnov.

After dispatching Romania 3-1, Hong Kong headed into their penultimate game against Lithuania. Tracy Wong had put Hong Kong 4-1 ahead at 48:38. Then followed a remarkable fightback by Lithuania. With the Lithuanians tying the game with 4:25 left of the third period, Renee Ng became the only Hong Konger netting in the ensuing penalty shootout loss.

But all was not lost for Hong Kong. Heading into the final round of games twists were still left in this tale. Following a nervy 3-0 final day win against Estonia, the players of Hong Kong then moved up to the stands of Brasov´s Olympic Ice Rink. In the ensuing nail-biting encounter, they looked on as Ukraine stepped up to edge Lithuania 2-1 and play their part in Hong Kong´s historical gold.

Hong Kong moves up to 2024 IIHF Women´s World Championship Division II Group B.

Fringe Club Lease Renewed for a Year

The Government announced today that the Fringe Club‘s lease has been renewed for twelve months, until 31 March 2024.

However, the premises will go up for tender later this year, to as the government puts it “to identify the most suitable non-profit-making operator of the premises currently occupied by the Fringe Club after the current lease.”

The Fringe Club was established in 1983 and in 2001 it won the HKSAR Government’s first-ever Hong Kong Heritage Award, and the premises were declared a Grade-1 heritage building in 2009.

Beautiful!!!

Beautiful!!!
Hong Kong’s women’s 7s team runout at the Hong Kong Sevens for the first time!!

Brilliant!!!
Agnes Tse scores a historic first try for Hong Kong on their Seven’s World Series debut.

image: Takumi Photography

HK Sevens
Date: 31 March – 2 April, 2023
Venue: HK Stadium
Tickets: $1,950
More info: www.HKsevens.com

Revisiting the Glory Days – The Legacy of Leslie and Anita

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the passing of superstars Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui the Hong Kong Film Archive (HKFA) will present a twenty-film retrospective entitled Revisiting the Glory Days – The Legacy of Leslie and Anita from April to December The programme is also part of the first Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival.

The opening programme (also the opening programme of the Hong Kong Pop Culture Festival 2023) on 22 April is When Leslie & Anita Meet Hei & Gin at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Grand Theatre when Gin Lee will perform four theme songs from the films of Cheung and Mui ahead of a screening of Who’s the Woman, Who’s the Man (1996) – the last feature film co-starring the two superstars.

The following night, 23 April, the 4K restored version of Rouge (1988), another film co-starred by Cheung and Mui, will screen at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Grand Theatre. The remaining films will be screened from 29 April to 30 December at HKFA Cinema.

Cheung was a talented and versatile actor who brought various types of characters to life… Whether it be the unrestrained playboy in Days of Being Wild (1990), the fierce yet gentle undercover cop in Moonlight Express (1999), the highly skilful thief in Once a Thief (1991), the ingenuous scholar in A Chinese Ghost Story (1987) or the cunning rascal in Long and Winding Road (1994).

Mui starred in many roles…. as the psychologically conflicted Gu Manlu in Eighteen Springs (1997), the top-class etiquette coach in The Greatest Lover (1988), the tough woman facing a marital crisis in Midnight Fly (2001), the heroine who personifies both strength and gentleness in The Heroic Trio (1993), the legendary spy in Kawashima Yoshiko (1990), to cross-dressing as the incompetent and skirt-chasing king in Wu Yen (2001).

As well as being actors Cheung and Mui were massive pop stars. The film Behind the Yellow Line (1984) marked their first acting collaboration and its theme song, sad but charming, was the first film duet by the two superstars. Mui took the role of a pop diva in the song and dance film The Musical Singer (1985). In For Your Heart Only (1985), Cheung’s hit songs intertwine closely with and drive the plots of the film. The theme song sung by him in He’s a Woman, She’s a Man (1994) became a Hong Kong pop classic. Cheung applied his artistic flair through directing, editing and scoring for the final sequence of Viva Erotica (1996).

The duo’s later films are also part of the programme, including Inner Senses (2002), about the dark side of human nature with Cheung’s powerful performance in expressing inner struggle and despair. In Mui’s July Rhapsody (2002), she delicately depicts how a middle-aged woman faces obstacles and melancholy in her natural performance.

Some screenings will be accompanied by pre-/post-screening talks hosted by Stanley Kwan, Joyce Yang, Gordon Chan, Chan Hing-kai, Janice Chow, Sam Ho, Clifton Ko Chi-sum, Dr Charles Cheung, Teddy Robin, Johnny Wang, Thomas Shin, Dr Ng Chun-hung, Shu Kei, Poon Hang-sang, Dr Angela Law, Eric Tsang and Matthew Cheng.

Apart from Viva Erotica which has no subtitles, all the other films have Chinese and English subtitles. Tickets are $85 for When Leslie & Anita Meet Hei & Gin and $45 for other screenings.