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Cirque Returns to Hong Kong

Cirque du Soleil returns to Hong Kong this week with Kooza, a circus-themed extravaganza that has been extensively reworked since its first appearance here in 2018.

As Duncan Fisher, Chief Show Operations Officer of Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, said at the launch, the Central Harbourfront venue is a stunning location: watch the sunset before the show commences, enjoy a night-time Star Ferry ride across the harbour afterwards while marvelling at the beauty of our home under lights.

There is something wonderful about seeing a show under the ‘big top’ – so different from our many bland concrete box venues with terrible acoustics – you feel part of the show. Especially since Kooza 2.0 is a much more engaging experience than the original.

While the underlying story remains the same. There are new acts – I don’t want to give too many spoilers here – and much of the cast has changed, bringing new and different skills to the show. The band is tight and sounds great under the big top.

After having been a Cirque ‘desert’ – 4 shows in thirty years – the future looks far more exciting with Mr Fisher saying that he hopes to bring a different show to the Hong Kong harbourfront every two years and establish Hong Kong as a signature Cirque city on a par with New York and London. Can’t you just ‘see’ senior government and HKTB officials making heart signs with their hands on hearing that!

If there’s one criticism of Kooza, it’s that there’s not an ounce of localisation to the show… How difficult would it be to tweak the clown parts to include a little play on the local stereotypes of each city visited? There is a ‘dog’ in the show which was funny – but I looked at it and thought with Hong Kong’s current panda obsession, how funny it would have been if it had been a panda…

Kooza’s season in Hong Kong has been extended to 13 July.

Images: copyright Simon Durrant

Cirque du Soleil’s Kooza
Date: 21 May – 13 July 2025
Venue: Central Harbourfront
Tickets: $1,988, $1,698, $1,298, $998, $758, $600, $450
More info:
Wednesdays: 7:30pm
Thursdays: 7:30pm
Fridays: 7:30pm
Saturdays: 1pm, 4:30pm, 8pm
Sundays: 1pm & 4:30pm

2025 Rugby Championship

SANZAAR has today confirmed the match schedule for the 2025 Rugby Championship that will be played from 16 August to 2 October.

The Rugby Championship (TRC) mini-tour format will remain in place, with each team playing six matches comprising three home matches and three away matches. Each team will host a two-match tour, will play an away two-match tour, and play a one-match home and away series against the third remaining team.

This year, South Africa will host Australia for two matches before heading to New Zealand for two away matches. New Zealand will head to Argentina for its away mini-tour prior to hosting South Africa, while Australia will host Argentina for two matches.

The Bledisloe Cup home and away Tests between Australia and New Zealand will take place in Perth and Auckland this year, with South Africa and Argentina meeting in Durban and London. The London fixture will be only the second time a Rugby Championship match has been played outside of the four core territories of Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

SANZAAR CEO Brendan Morris stated, “The Rugby Championship is the pinnacle of southern hemisphere rugby and one of the world’s most prestigious tournaments. This year will be no different as some of the best Test teams in the world do battle across 11 cities across the four nations.”

“Anticipation is again high for the 2025 edition of TRC as the top talent from Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa do battle for southern hemisphere supremacy. South Africa are the current World Champions and incumbent Rugby Championship champions, while Argentina are now fifth in the world rankings. New Zealand will warm-up with a Test series against France while the Wallabies have a big series against the British & Irish Lions to prepare for the Championship.”

“This year the tournament finishes with a match at Allianz Stadium Twickenham in London when Argentina host the Springboks. This is an exciting opportunity to showcase The Rugby Championship in the UK.”

Additional reporting and images: SANZAAR

Fifty Years of The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Scarily 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the release of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Disney wants fans to do the ‘time warp’ again!

The film’s half-century milestone is being celebrated with a new 4K Ultra remaster that will be released in cinemas and on Blu-ray later this year.

https://youtu.be/_Ov8yLJkknY?si=ScUc3tDptGFh1hhp

The Rocky Horror Picture Show – Official Theatrical Trailer 1 (https://youtu.be/_Ov8yLJkknY?si=ScUc3tDptGFh1hhp)

The 1975 film stars Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon as a newly engaged couple who seek help at the castle of gender-bending Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry) when their car breaks down.

Based on the musical play by Richard O’Brien – with a screenplay by O’Brien and director Jim Sharman, and produced by Lou Adler and Michael White – The Rocky Horror Picture Show broke the mold with its legendary late-night screenings, complete with shadow casts, fan costumes, and interactive rituals, the film pioneered a new kind of audience participation that redefined the cinema-going experience.

Even today, 50 years later there are weekly screenings around the world, making The Rocky Horror Picture Show the longest-running theatrical release of all time.

The new 4K restoration release features a newly mixed Dolby Atmos audio track, bringing enhanced depth and dimension to the film’s iconic soundtrack.

“It’s a privilege to help preserve the legacy of a film that has meant so much to so many,” says Kevin Schaeffer, Director of Disney’s Restoration & Library Management. “Bringing The Rocky Horror Picture Show to life in 4K allows us to honor its bold, genre-defying spirit and ensure that audiences – both longtime fans and first-time viewers – can experience it as it was originally intended, with stunning picture and sound.”

“When The Rocky Horror Picture Show was first released, no one thought it would be around very long let alone…50 years,” says producer Lou Adler. “What began as a small, rebellious project has become a global celebration of individuality, community, and creative freedom. This anniversary is a tribute to the fans who kept it alive and kicking all these years.”

Film Synopsis

Fasten your garter belt and relive the time-warping, gender-bending cult classic! When a newly engaged couple’s (Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon) car breaks down on a rainy night, they wind up in the creepy castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry). There, they have an adventure that will thrill you, chill you and fulfill you like never before!

Read the Guradian’s How we made: The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Hope fully there will be a Hong Kong release!

Cultural Beat Drone Show, 1 May 2025

The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) launched a new seasonal thematic promotion Hong Kong Cultural Beat with a drone show over Victoria Harbour on 1 May.

Themed around Hong Kong’s cultural festivals—the Tin Hau Festival, the Tam Kung Festival, and the iconic Cheung Chau Bun Festival—the 12-minute show featured a fleet of 1,000 drones. And while beautiful, if we’re being honest, the drone show sadly paled in comparison to some recent ones seen north of the border.

Click on any image for the full gallery

image: HK Tourism

M2M Live @ Queen Elizabeth Stadium – 29 April, 2025

The enduring love and popularity of live music was on full display last night at Queen Elizabeth Stadium as many of the predominantly female audience for Norwegian duo M2M‘s concert were younger than 25… ie born after the duo’s albums were released and the songs first became hits.

Truth be said it didn’t feel like 25 years ago that we were first listening to Don’t Say You Love Me, Everything You Do, Pretty Boy, Mirror, Mirror… the songs sounded as fresh today as they did when first released – perhaps it was just me who felt a tad ‘old’ when Marion and Marit were talking about how long ago the songs were released.

It was fun to hear the hits live, but perhaps the most emotional part of the concert was to hear Marion sing It’s All Coming Back to Me Now – her duet with Meatloaf. There’s a great live version of Meatloaf singing and chatting with the audience and recounting a story about him and Marion (can’t find a link, but here’s a link to the music video). Great to hear the other side.

Click on any picture for the full gallery of images

Set list:

The Day You Went Away
Everything You Do
The Minute
I Don’t Wanna Talk About It
Love Left For Me
Pretty Boy
Here I Am
Don’t
Under The Surface
If A Song
What You Do About Me
Driving
Don’t Save Me
It’s All Coming Back To Me Now
Mirror Mirror
Everything
——
Don’t Mess With My Love
Don’t Say You Love Me

M2M – The Better Endings Tour
Date: 8pm, 29 April 2025
Venue: Queen Elizabeth Stadium
Tickets: $2,088, $1,288, $888, $688 from Urbtix

Holi Beach Party @ Chung Hom Kok Beach – 9 March, 2025

Ten years after its first epic visit, the Holi Colour Party returned to Chung Hom Kok Beach to celebrate the triumph of good over evil with friends old and new, great music and of course lots of vibrant colour!

Even the sun agreed poking it’s head out from among the clouds on a chilly, but invigorating, spring afternoon.

Known as the ‘Festival of Colours,’ the Holi Festival is a Hindu festival that celebrates spring’s arrival, the triumph of good over evil, and the blossoming of love!

It was a ‘bigly’ fun afternoon! Thanks to the organisers who made it all possible, and to everyone who came and picked up their rubbish to ensure that the beach was cleaner than when we arrived.

Click on any photo or here for the full gallery of images

Holi Beach Party
Date: 11am-5:30pm, 9 March, 2025
Venue: to be announced
Tickets: $tbc
More info:
Bring your own food & drinks (BYOB & BYOF allowed)
For more info email [email protected]

Rugby Week 2025

After the individual creativity of Art Week, the wonders of team creativity are on display as Rugby Week 2025 scrums down.

The traditional rugby week curtain-raiser Kowloonfest celebrates it’s twentieth-anniversary tournament!

A new addition to Hong Kong’s Rugby Week is the Hong Kong International Touch Championship 2025. Touch rugby’s increasing popularity sees a move for the tournament to ‘Rugby Week’ with the hope of attracting new players and more fans. At last years

The best ‘rugby’ of the week, the Hong Kong 10s at Hong Kong Football Club, proper scrums and brutal power forward play are features of the Tens – especially on Thursday night. It’s perhaps the closest we in Hong Kong can get to seeing modern rugby up close and personal. Select teams packed with talent and big names, new and old, from around the world bring a physicality and rawness to the rugby images seen on television that really needs to be experienced in person.

Amidst the Sevens partying, a rugby tournament takes place… And this year it’s going to be at the new 50,000 seater Kai Tak Stadium… The main question among Sevens fans is will the move to the new stadium allow the HK Sevens to recover its allure as one of the world’s great sporting/social events? Tickets are still available, which is not a good sign…

Here are the dates for your Rugby Week 2025 diary.

Hong Kong International Touch Championship 2025
When: 23 March, 2025
Where: Happy Valley Recreation Ground
How much: tbc
More info: www.facebook.com/hktouch

Kowloon Fest – Twentieth Anniversay
When: 27 March 2025
Where: Kings Park
How much: Free
More info: www.rugbyfest.org

Hong Kong Tens
When: 26-27 March, 2025
Where: Hong Kong Football Club
How much: tbc
More info: www.hkfc10s.com

HK Sevens
HK Sevens
Date: 28-30 March 2025
Venue: Kai Tak Stadium
Tickets: $1,950
More info: www.HKsevens.com

Hong Kong Art Week 2025

The art world again focuses on Hong Kong this March with several exhibitions bringing thousands of art pieces from emerging and established artists to the SAR.

As the old cliche goes ‘one man’s art though is another’s trash’ and you’ll wonder exactly what the attraction of some pieces are – but there’s enough variety that you’ll likely find a few things to discus, enjoy and perhaps even buy.

Art Central
A contemporary art fair in the heart of Hong Kong with over 100 exhibitors showcasing the next generation of talent alongside some of the most established galleries from across Asia.

Art Central
Date: 26-30 March 2025
Venue: Central Harbourfront
Tickets: $540, $340, $260 HKTicketing
More info:
26 March: 12nn-5pm / 5-9pm
27 March: 12nn-7pm
28 March: 12nn -7pm
29 March: 11am-7pm
30 March: 11am-5pm

Art Basel
Many of the world’s leading modern and contemporary art galleries display paintings, drawings, sculptures, installations, prints, photography, film, video, and digital art by over 4,000 artists.

Art Basel
Date: 27-30 March, 2025
Venue: HK Convention and Exhibition Centre
Tickets: $4,880, $1,180, $980, $990, $620, $550, $420, $350 from HKTicketing
More info:
27 March: 4-8pm
28 March: 2-8pm
29 March: 2–8pm
30 March: 12 noon–6pm