Sawt Falasteen - Party time, flyby as raucous Hong Kong Sevens settles into new home

Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong's sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak stadium.

They hope to entice major European football teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December saying Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour.

Coldplay will perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong's bid to re-establish the city as a hub for international sports, culture and entertainment.

The biggest event in rugby sevens, with organisers saying they have sold a record 130,000 tickets for the tournament from Friday to Sunday, is seen as key to restoring Hong Kong's reputation.

The city's image took a battering after political protests led to Beijing imposing a sweeping national security law.

Visitor numbers plummeted during almost three years of strict Covid curbs and have only recently begun to recover.

"We feel very fortunate, via the hosting of the sevens, to be able to help strengthen the role of Hong Kong as one of the world's most vibrant and accessible destinations for major international events," said Chris Brooke, chairman of organisers Hong Kong China Rugby.

The annual tournament, which has witnessed the emergence of rugby greats such as Jonah Lomu, was first held in 1976 and from the 1990s took place in the heart of the city at the 40,000-capacity Hong Kong Stadium.

DJ Forbes, the former New Zealand sevens captain, said that the Hong Kong sevens "has always been the world cup of the game".

Men's and women's teams from around the globe will compete, led by Olympic champions France, New Zealand and sevens powerhouses Fiji, who have regard Hong Kong as their home tournament and have lifted the cup a record 19 times.

- Party time and flyby -

The HK$30 billion Kai Tak Sports Park officially opened on March 1 in a neighbourhood that was once the site of Hong Kong's airport.

The airport was sited in a dense urban development at the edge of Victoria Harbour and was a famously challenging landing spot for pilots.

In a nod to the area's former life and as part of the celebrations, a Cathay Pacific jet will perform a fly-past on Sunday.

The waterfront stadium is eye-catching, boasting a futuristic purplish facade dubbed "Pearl of the Orient" and a retractable roof.

The stadium has what organisers call one of the longest bars in Asia -- good news for the many spectators who will be there more for the event's legendary partying and live music than the sport.

The sprawling complex also features a 10,000-seat indoor sports arena, a 5,000-seat public sports ground and three shopping malls.

City leader John Lee said the 28-hectare (70-acre) sports park has ushered in a "state-of-the-art new stage for Hong Kong".

It has not been without challenges and teething problems.

Hong Kong's government floated the idea of an Olympic-standard stadium as early as the 2000s, but construction only began in 2019 and was beset by delays.

Then earlier this month, officials apologised after about 100 fans at the nighbouring arena were kicked out mid-match at a World Snooker event.

They were ordered to leave before the action ended because public transport in the area was scheduled to stop at midnight.

"Literally, fans HAVE to leave, due to policies," the management team of world champion Kyren Wilson, who was playing at the time, wrote on social media.

"You can't make it up!"

H.Darwish--SF-PST