Mrs Carrie Lam
Chief Executive
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to Festival Hong Kong 2019 – A Cultural Extravaganza@Shanghai.  This is Hong Kong’s first grand cultural event in Mainland China since our participation in Shanghai’s Expo 2010.  Festival Hong Kong, which runs through the first three weeks of November, has been designed to showcase the artistic vibrancy and cultural creativity of Hong Kong, while boosting ties between our two cities and the people and culture that inspire them.

Festival Hong Kong features 19 dazzling programmes taking place in a variety of cultural venues throughout Shanghai.  The highlights are many, I am pleased to note, including bravura concerts by both the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.  The Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, Hong Kong Dance Company and Hong Kong Ballet are also performing specially selected works, while Zuni Icosahedron’s The Architecture of the City is an award-winning multimedia production.  Exhibitions include a spotlight on Hong Kong illustration and original design brands.  Film screenings, outreach programmes featuring young Hong Kong dancers, musicians and artists, and a great deal more, will surely make Festival Hong Kong a memorable occasion for performers and audiences alike.

I am pleased to add that some of the Festival events are also being featured during the 21st China Shanghai International Arts Festival’s Hong Kong Culture Week, in this month as well.

My thanks to all the partnering organisations in Hong Kong and Shanghai for their sterling efforts.  I am sure Festival Hong Kong 2019 – A Cultural Extravaganza@Shanghai will be a memorable success.  And I look forward to more co-operation between our two great cities – in arts, culture and much else.