The forthcoming Chinese New Year Night Parade that will take place for the first time since 2019 will feature the most international performing groups since the event began 22 years ago. The parade will begin at 8pm on February 10, and showcase nine themed floats, as well as 16 global and 13 local acts, and will revolve around the theme ‘World Party Great Celebration’.
The event will kickstart the city’s Year of the Dragon festivities with a parade of floats that includes the best of the SAR’s biggest theme parks, Hong Kong Disneyland and Ocean Park Hong Kong. There will also be galloping horses on the Hong Kong Jockey Club float and spinning windmills that take the form of a dancing dragon on the Hong Kong Tourism Board display. As a bonus, spectators will get to see Mr. Men Little Miss characters on a float as well.
Each float will make its appearance among blooming flowers, felicitous couplets, lucky windmills, and firecrackers to get onlookers well and truly into the spirit of Chinese New Year. The 2024 edition of the parade will also see the return of the classic lion and dragon dances that are an integral part of the event.
This year’s international acts include Japanese all-female pop dance group Avantgardey, Light Dancers from Spain, Dutch circus performance Circus in Motion, Universe of Lights from Germany, the Guangxi Arts Troupe, the Tibet Chamdo Troupe, professional cheerleaders from the US, and the Bacolod City MassKara Festival from the Philippines. Hong Kong will be represented by marching bands, rhythmic gymnastics demonstrations, Chinese dances, and Bollywood performances.
Before the parade kicks off, 13 performing teams will warm up the crowd along the parade route from dance, magic tricks, music, freestyle football, and much more, starting at 6pm. The parade will begin at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza and proceed along Canton Road, Haiphong Road, and Nathan Road, before ending at the Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel and Towers at 9.45pm.
Tickets for the Chinese New Year Night Parade are priced at HK$300, $450 and $480, and will be available at the Hong Kong Tourism Board’s Kowloon Visitor Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui from January 27. The tickets go on sale at 8am and are available on a first-come-first-served basis.
The celebrations will continue for two weeks after the parade ends, as the international teams will perform on February 11 and 12 at the Urban Council Centenary Garden in Tsim Sha Tsui, Maritime Square in Tsing Yi, Lee Tung Avenue in Wan Chai, and The Wai in Tai Wai. Some of the floats used in the parade will also be on display at the Urban Council Centenary Garden until February 25.
For more information about the Chinese New Year Night Parade, click here.
Image credits: Hong Kong Tourism Board