Fans and friends remember Anita Mui at anniversary concert

Thousands of fans and fellow superstars gathered last night for a concert to commemorate Canto-pop diva Anita Mui Yim-fong on the 10th anniversary of her death.

The auditorium of the Convention and Exhibition Centre was a sea of red as the audience waved rose-coloured lamps in time to a clip of Mui singing to open the 90-minute concert.

Then 24 artists including Andy Lau Tak-wah, Jackie Chan and Sandy Lam Yik-lin took turns to deliver speeches and sing Mui's signature songs.

They performed on an elegant stage setting with a red carpet on a white staircase echoing the set used at Mui's last concert, a month before her death, which she famously ended by walking down the carpet clad in a wedding dress.

Mui died of cervical cancer in the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital on December 30, 2003 at the age of 40.

The concert, initiated by Mui's close friends Jacky Cheung Hok-yau and Eric Tsang Chi-wai and organised by the Hong Kong Performing Artistes Guild, was broadcast live on local radio and television channels. "It's a very special occasion tonight where all friends of Ah Mui joined together to remember her. Many of them flew back to Hong Kong from abroad," Tsang said.

Tang Lin, 27, a long-time fan of Mui, came from her home in Sichuan province just for the concert.