China News Service, February 4th. On February 3rd, Major League Soccer team Inter Miami held an open training session at the Hong Kong Stadium. Fans from all over the world rushed to the Hong Kong Stadium. When Argentinian star Messi appeared on the court, the whole crowd was excited. Messi's every move and every move attracted cheers from the fans. He will participate in the exhibition match between Inter Miami, where he plays, and the Hong Kong team on the 4th. This is the first time in 10 years that Messi has come to Hong Kong to compete and communicate with local teams.
The picture shows Messi (center) training with teammates, coaches, etc. Photo by China News Service reporter Hou Yu
A city of great events, the style of superstars ignites the passion of fans everywhere. This time Messi led the team to conduct a public training session in Hong Kong, attracting nearly 40,000 people to watch, breaking the previous record of attendance for foreign teams visiting Hong Kong for public training. Fans arrived three hours before the event started. People are wearing eye-catching pink uniforms, and there are countless No. 10 jerseys at a glance.
The picture shows many fans waiting for the appearance of the Inter Miami team led by Messi at the Hong Kong Stadium. Photo by China News Service reporter Hou Yu
After the event, the fans left the stadium, and the Causeway Bay area continued to be crowded. Fans and tourists from all over the world poured into restaurants and restaurants to continue to taste the enthusiasm of the event city. According to data from the Hong Kong Immigration Department, on the day the Miami International team arrived in Hong Kong, 120,000 mainland tourists entered Hong Kong at various ports, an increase of 10,000 from the previous Friday, an increase of about 10%; in the past five days, a total of 120,000 mainland tourists visited Hong Kong. More than 570,000 people visited, an increase of nearly 17% from the same period last week, including Messi fans who came to Hong Kong to watch the game.
Director of the Hong Kong Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, Mr Yeung Yun-hung, said that the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau has fully supported and funded this sports event and will definitely continue its efforts to host more events of different types and polish Hong Kong's reputation as an international metropolitan event capital.
A large number of fans bought souvenirs. Image source: Hong Kong Sing Tao Network
From jerseys, hotels, to restaurants, bars, and retail, business opportunities for Messi's visit to Hong Kong are everywhere. Many businesses are taking advantage of the city's "football craze" to come up with their own ideas. The star effect of Messi's arrival in Hong Kong brings important inspiration to Hong Kong's economy in hosting major events. Hong Kong integrates Chinese and Western cultures and is a capital of international events. Attracting heavyweight stars to hold events and performances in Hong Kong will help consolidate Hong Kong's international characteristics. In the future, we should continue to make good use of the star effect to let more people know about Hong Kong’s reputation as a city of major events.
Hosting a great event is never a one-sided effort, it requires the concerted efforts of all parties. Before Messi arrived in Hong Kong, in addition to the tickets for the public to purchase, the Hong Kong SAR government also gave full support and gave away 15,000 tickets for free to students, youths, young athletes, disabled athletes and grassroots families; Hong Kong citizens can pass the free ticket on the day of the game. Watch the live broadcast on TV; the Hong Kong Bar Industry Association revealed that it was informed by the Hong Kong Tourism Board that the bar industry can broadcast the game in bars for free on the 4th. It is estimated that at least more than 80% of bars will broadcast the game without charging any additional fees; this time For the grand event, the Hong Kong SAR government provided the organizers with a matching grant of HK$16 million, direct venue funding and a series of supporting support to help the event go smoothly...
The only antique Chinese sightseeing sailing ship in Hong Kong that is still in operation, the duck spirit has also been replaced with a pink mainsail with a portrait of Messi in response to Messi's visit to Hong Kong. The duck spirit transformed into "Messi" and cruised Victoria Harbor. Image source: Hong Kong Sing Tao Network
Hong Kong's business community is also coming up with new ideas to create more business opportunities, making this sports event more exciting. Tickets for this competition were sold out within just one hour of going online, and many singers were invited to attend the pre-match performance on the day of the competition. The hotel where Messi stayed launched a meal and beverage package, attracting many fans to snap up. Many merchants in Hong Kong sensed business opportunities early on and launched Messi-like products to attract customers. Many restaurants near the Hong Kong Stadium have launched a "Wear a Messi jersey and get snacks" offer. Posters and advertisements related to this competition can be seen in the streets and alleys of Hong Kong and Victoria Harbour.
Sports tourism may be an important part of Hong Kong's events economy. Liu Yongsong, deputy director and professor of the Department of Physical Education, Exercise and Health at Hong Kong Baptist University, pointed out that the sustainable time of the Messi craze is limited, but it can be seen from the Messi craze that the development potential of sports tourism is very great and is expected to become a major factor in the development of Hong Kong tourism. important engine. He believes that the SAR government can shoulder the role of convener, conduct basic research, identify potential projects, and use market forces to make them "bigger and stronger" to create more sports tourism events.
To successfully host major events, the economy needs to continue to leverage the advantages of cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Before Messi's visit to Hong Kong, the SAR government had a lot of pictures, texts and short videos to promote Messi's visit to Hong Kong on relevant social platform accounts. The radiating area was not limited to cities in the Greater Bay Area, but also netizens in more mainland cities, thus attracting many mainland tourists. port. In the future, Hong Kong will host more grand events and connect to the Greater Bay Area. Hong Kong will continue to leverage its characteristics and advantages of being backed by the motherland and connected to the world. I believe that more people will be able to experience Hong Kong's unique charm and cultural atmosphere, and the "circle of friends" will continue expand.