Hong Kong Arts Festival cancels most in-venue performances, postpones others with venues shut and Covid-19 cases surging

Organisers of the festival cite uncertainty about the availability of venues – all currently closed – and Covid-19 social distancing measures for their decision

Fans will miss innovative opera Laila, concerts by the city’s two biggest orchestras and a Hong Kong Ballet production. But live theatre events are still a go

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Laila, an interactive opera co-produced by the Hong Kong Arts Festival and Finnish National Opera and Ballet, is among in-venue performances cancelled or postponed by festival organisers. The event will be staged at a
later date.

Enid Tsui

Published: 9:24pm, 10 Feb 2022

The 50th Hong Kong Arts Festival has cancelled most of its in-venue performances.

Organisers of the festival, which opens on February 28, made an early decision after the number of Covid-19 cases in Hong Kong rose sharply following the Lunar New Year holiday.

New infections rose above 1,000 per day this week, and experts have forecast there will be 28,000 new infections per day by the end of March. The closure of performance venues, announced to curb the spread of Covid-19, has been extended until February 23.

In a statement on Thursday, organisers said: “In view of the uncertainty surrounding venue availability and social distancing measures due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the HKAF is announcing changes to a number of in-venue programmes.

“Details regarding the rescheduling of selected programmes will be announced in due course.”

This marks the third year of major disruptions for the festival, which had to cancel its entire line-up in 2020 and move most of the 2021 programme online.

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra was to have opened the festival with a concert including Mahler’s Symphony No 4. It has now been cancelled. Photo: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra