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Illustration: Craig Stephens
The FIA World Rallycross Championship last November reminded us that tight event schedules are an organiser’s nightmare. Given the impossible mission to build the street circuit within two weeks, when it usually took longer in other cities, the organiser faced construction delays that meant the planned 1.225km track could not be completed in time and had to be shortened.
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Before that, with less than a month to organise the Wan Chai “waterfront carnival” of the “Night Vibes Hong Kong” campaign, the organiser faced initial power supply glitches that left some vendors at the bazaar struggling to serve hot dishes and others unable to accept electronic payments.

Why do we seem to be clumsily fighting short deadlines when organising major events? Granted, internationally acclaimed events and celebrities have difficult schedules but event organisers around the world still manage to pull it off. The reason for Hong Kong’s difficulties is a lack of coordination.

Organising a public event in Hong Kong is a laborious effort. Organisers must apply for a long list of temporary licences from various government departments and each licence can take weeks of back and forth. Equally difficult is securing a suitable venue. Major arenas like the Hong Kong Coliseum have to be booked a year in advance due to their popularity.
Having overcome the time-consuming approval process and the challenge of securing a suitable venue, event organisers often have little space left to compromise on their hard-won schedules – even when they turn out to clash with other events. Last November 12, three major sporting events took place in Hong Kong: on top of the FIA World Rallycross Championship, there were the Hong Kong Open golf tournament and New World Harbour Race. The Macau Grand Prix was also on.
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When events clash, they are forced to compete for the same clientele, and often end up undercutting rather than complementing one another.

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