Movie lovers can use discount tickets from ‘Happy Hong Kong’ campaign to watch new titles, old favourites: cinema group says
- Emperor Cinemas Group says it will offer selections of favourites from Lunar New Year break and 2022 alongside new titles for campaign’s ‘Cinema Day 2023’
- Campaign’s free food fair will also start giving out tickets from 8am on Wednesday, minister says, with strong turnout expected at weekend event in Wan Chai
Movie lovers would be able to use their discount cinema tickets from the HK$20 million (US$2.5 million) “Happy Hong Kong” campaign to watch the latest films and a selection of re-released titles, an industry representative said on Tuesday.
As part of Saturday’s “Cinema Day 2023”, more than 200,000 film fans will be able to buy tickets for HK$30 per head, around a quarter of the usual prices.
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Residents can reserve their discount film tickets at all cinemas from 11am on Thursday, with a limit of four at most venues. The quota for online purchases will be subject to each platform’s restrictions.
Emperor Cinemas Group general manager Timothy Yuen Yin-man told a radio programme on Tuesday that 61 commercial cinemas would take part in the campaign.
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“If the response is good, we hope we can discuss with the government about continuing to have more of such events regularly, and get more opinions from residents on how to entice them more,” Yuen said.
He also said the chances of scalping were relatively low and the company had no plans to implement a real-name ticketing system, such as those used at concerts.
On the same radio programme, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen said 100,000 tickets for the “Happy Hong Kong Gourmet Marketplace”, the campaign’s coming free food fair, would be distributed from 8am on Wednesday.
The minister said she expected the tickets for the event at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai over the weekend would be in high demand.
“[According to past experience], if free admission is available, the public is more likely to attend the event,” she said.
Mak added that authorities had contacted various consulates in the city to coordinate efforts to introduce an array of foreign cuisines while catering sector lawmaker Tommy Cheung Yu-yan had helped to invite merchants to set up stalls.
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Local and global gourmet food will be served at 100 stalls during the event.
Mak said she was not worried about any competition between businesses during the event, saying its popularity would boost customers for all local eateries.
Similar events will also be held in Sha Tin Park and Kwun Tong Promenade in May and June, respectively, where residents can enter for free without reserving tickets.
“Through all these ‘Happy Hong Kong’ events and the recent distribution of consumer vouchers, I hope everyone can enjoy spending happily and have some fun so we can see more smiley faces, as well as boost the city’s economy,” he said.
