The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory.
Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium.
They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour.
Photo: AFP
Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s bid to re-establish the territory as a hub for international sports, culture and entertainment.
The biggest event in rugby sevens, with organizers saying they have sold a record 130,000 tickets for the tournament, which concludes on Sunday, is seen as key to restoring Hong Kong’s reputation.
The territory’s image took a battering after political protests led to Beijing imposing a sweeping National Security Law. Visitor numbers plummeted during almost three years of COVID-19 restrictions and have only recently begun to recover.
Photo: AFP
“We feel very fortunate, via the hosting of the sevens, to be able to help strengthen the role of Hong Kong as one of the world’s most vibrant and accessible destinations for major international events,” said Chris Brooke, chairman of organizers Hong Kong China Rugby.
The annual tournament, which has witnessed the emergence of rugby greats such as Jonah Lomu, was first held in 1976 and from the 1990s took place in the heart of the city at the 40,000-capacity Hong Kong Stadium.
D.J. Forbes, a former New Zealand sevens captain, said that the Hong Kong sevens “has always been the world cup of the game.”
Men’s and women’s teams from around the globe are to compete, led by Olympic champions France, New Zealand and sevens powerhouses Fiji, who regard Hong Kong as their home tournament and have lifted the cup a record 19 times.
The HK$30 billion (US$3.86 billion) Kai Tak Sports Park officially opened on March 1 in a neighborhood that was once the site of Hong Kong’s airport.
The airport was sited in a dense urban development at the edge of Victoria Harbour and was a famously challenging landing spot for pilots.
In a nod to the area’s former life and as part of the celebrations, a Cathay Pacific jet is to perform a flypast on Sunday.
The waterfront stadium is eye-catching, boasting a purplish facade dubbed “Pearl of the Orient” and a retractable roof.
The stadium has what organizers call one of the longest bars in Asia — good news for the many spectators who will be there more for the event’s legendary partying and live music than the sport.
The sprawling complex also features a 10,000-seat indoor sports arena, a 5,000-seat public sports ground and three shopping malls.
NO HARD FEELINGS: Taiwan’s Lin Hsiang-ti and Indonesia’s Dhinda Amartya Pratiwi embraced after fighting to a tense and rare 30-29 final game in their Uber Cup match The Taiwanese men’s team on Wednesday fought back from the brink of elimination to defeat Denmark in Group C and advance to the quarter-finals of the Thomas Cup, while the women’s team were to face South Korea after press time last night in the Uber Cup quarter-finals in Horsens, Denmark. In the first match, Taiwan’s top shuttler Chou Tien-chen faced a familiar opponent in world No. 3 Anders Antonsen. It was their 16th head-to-head matchup, with the Dane taking his fourth victory in a row against former world No. 2 Chou, winning 21-14, 13-21, 21-15 in 1 hour, 22 minutes. The
Marta Kostyuk’s maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid came on Saturday thanks to her power, poise and a pair of unexpected lucky shorts. The world No. 23 beat eighth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in under 90 minutes to secure the most prestigious trophy of her career, her third professional singles title and second in less than a month after Rouen. Yet as the 23-year-old Ukrainian posed for photographs at the Caja Magica, it was not just the silverware that caught the eye. Held alongside her team and her two dogs, Kostyuk showed off a piece of black men’s underwear, prompting
Throwing more than US$5 billion at a divisive new tour and walking away after five seasons does not look like good business, but LIV Golf was not all bad news for Saudi Arabia. Oil-funded LIV, which poached top stars and sent golf’s establishment into a tailspin, helped push the conservative kingdom into global view — one of its key aims, experts said. The exit, confirmed on Thursday after weeks of speculation, does not signal a flight of Saudi money from sport, even after the Middle East war that sparked Iranian attacks around the Gulf, they said. “Saudi Arabia is not
Anastasia Potapova on Wednesday turned tennis heartbreak into history by becoming the first lucky loser to reach a WTA 1000 semi-final with her thrilling 6-1, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3 victory over Karolina Pliskova at the Madrid Open, as Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei exited in the women’s doubles quarter-finals. The Russian-born Austrian, who lost in qualifying last week, has capitalized on her unexpected main draw entry and stunned former world No. 1 Pliskova in a roller-coaster clash despite squandering three match points. Potapova’s run has included impressive victories over former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko and world No. 2 Elena Rybakina. Asked if she had thought
RSS