Show on Wan Chai waterfront will use thousands of drones to display images of mooncakes and rabbits alongside a fire dragon dance and other traditional celebrations
Hong Kong will mark this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival with its first-ever seasonal drone show. Photo: Edmond SoHong Kong will mark this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival with the city’s first seasonal drone show that will include holiday motifs such as mooncakes and rabbits as part of three days of events to boost tourism over the break.
The show will take place along Wan Chai’s waterfront on September 17 and involve thousands of drones, while the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance is set for between September 16 and 18, with an extended route and live broadcasts at Victoria Park to help reach a larger audience.
“This year’s extravaganza showcases a harmonious blend of modernity and tradition,” a Tourism Board spokesman said, adding the events line-up “surpassed those of previous years”.
Imagery for the drone show would also include lanterns and a fire dragon, but viewers would need to head to prime spots along the waterfront if they wanted to see the event as it would not be visible from Kowloon, he said.
For the traditional dragon, a replica of the mythical beast, made from burning incense sticks, would travel down an extended route from Wun Sha Street to Tung Lo Wan Road. The event will also feature a performance by 100 children with another dragon made from 10,000 LED lights.
Other festive activities include rope-skipping and a fluorescent nunchaku show, as well as installations offering photo opportunities. Trams, MTR stations and the Mid-Levels escalators will also get a festive makeover as part of the celebrations.
In a reply to the SCMP, the board did not disclose how much it was spending on the event or how visitors it hoped to attract.
The festival last year coincided with the National Day “Golden Week” holiday in mainland China, with official figures showing about 1.1 million visitors travelled to Hong Kong from across the border at the time.
Travel Industry Council chairwoman Gianna Hsu Wong Mei-lun said the board’s events line-up would prove useful in attracting more tourists.
“These events can potentially attract those who live in regions nearby and didn’t have plans to visit to make a last-minute trip,” she said.
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“If [the events] become long-term fixtures, they can also enhance the desire for tourists to visit from further away.”
She added that the industry hoped to either match or surpass the number of seasonal visitors from the mainland recorded in 2023, but noted this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival would not coincide with the Golden Week break.
She said it was too early to estimate the number of visitors for the latter holiday.
Hsu said there had been a recent increase in the number of drone shows but their ability to attract tourists would depend on their respective themes and visual effects, comparing them with the city’s long-running fireworks displays.