Hong Kong Coliseum
Hong Kong Coliseum (May 2022)
Alternative namesHung Hom Coliseum
General information
Architectural styleMinimalism
LocationHung Hom Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Address9 Cheong Wan Road
Coordinates22°18′5.33″N 114°10′55.23″E / 22.3014806°N 114.1820083°E / 22.3014806; 114.1820083
Construction startedMarch 1973 (1973-03)
CompletedAugust 1981 (1981-08)
Inaugurated27 April 1983 (1983-04-27)
Renovated2008 (2008)
CostHK$ 140 000 000
HK$ 160 000 000 (2008 renovation)
ClientUrban Council
ManagementLeisure and Cultural Service Department
Technical details
Structural systemreinforced concrete
Design and construction
Main contractorUrban Council
Other information
Seating capacity12,500
Website
www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/hkc/index.html
Hong Kong Coliseum
Inside the Hong Kong Coliseum, during the FIVB World Grand Prix
Traditional Chinese香港體育館
Simplified Chinese香港体育馆
Cantonese YaleHēunggóng Táiyuhkgún
Hung Hom Coliseum
Traditional Chinese紅磡體育館
Simplified Chinese红磡体育馆
Cantonese YaleHùhngham Táiyuhkgún
Second alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese紅館
Simplified Chinese红馆
Cantonese YaleHùhnggún

Hong Kong Coliseum, commonly known as the Hung Hom Coliseum, is a multi-purpose indoor arena, in Hung Hom Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong near Hung Hom station. It is in Yau Tsim Mong District.[1]

It was built by the Urban Council and inaugurated on 27 April 1983. The opening of the stadium coincided with the 100th anniversary of the Urban Council.[2] The coliseum has 12,500 seats, which is the second largest among indoor facilities in Hong Kong, only behind the 2005-opened AsiaWorld–Arena.

It is now managed by the Leisure and Cultural Service Department of the Hong Kong Government.

Facilities

The Hong Kong Coliseum consists of a big arena and a number of conference rooms.

Arena

Hong Kong Coliseum, the inverted pyramid-like construction, right behind the MTR Hung Hom station.

The arena floor is a rectangular shape with seats surrounding it on all four sides, the highest and farthest rows rising up to 41 metres (134’6”). The entire facility has a concrete cement flooring.

During performances, the floor may be covered with different overmounted floorings, such as demountable wooden flooring or various rubberized roll-outs, to facilitate the set-up of sporting equipment or the execution of different athletic events, such as futsal, badminton, basketball, volleyball and ice-skating.

Moreover, the floor can hold strong pressures up to 1,800 kg/m2, which cannot even be done by industrial buildings. This facilitates the setup of music and performance stages, platforms and large pieces of sound and set equipment for concerts and any other live entertainment that requires an elevated stage and good audio and PA (public address) systems.

Strategically placed speaker systems, among other sound equipment, and a four-sided, colour television screen projector system (suspended from the centre of the arena ceiling) are also available, to project the event's live footage onto a screen, and to allow any member of the audience sitting at the farthest points of the stadium to hear and see clearly.

Conference Rooms

The Hong Kong Coliseum offers both open and sheltered areas for holding conventions and conferences. The demountable open stage provides the arena with an excellent forum for public assemblies as well as staging live television broadcasts of opening ceremonies.

Reception Room

The reception room acts as an assistant facility for hirers of the arena and the conference rooms to accommodate visiting VIPs. The room can hold 60 persons.

Events

Even though its formal name in Chinese roughly translates to "Sports Arena", the venue often serves as a concert venue for popular singers. In addition, some universities rent it every year for congregation. Some performances like ice-skating also choose Hong Kong Coliseum as their stages. It was also used every year from 1991 to 2010 to hold the Miss Hong Kong Pageant, except for 2008.

It also hosts a part of the FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League (before: FIVB World Grand Prix) for volleyball every year.

David Bowie played the two final dates of his 1983 Serious Moonlight Tour at the venue. The final date - December 8 - was the third anniversary of John Lennon's death and to signify that, Bowie played Lennon's "Imagine".

On 3 June 2001, Irish vocal pop band Westlife held a concert for their Where Dreams Come True Tour supporting their album Coast to Coast. In November 1988 it was a venue for three days (18-20th) of Whitney Houston's Moment of Truth World Tour performance. Other performers at the Coliseum in the late eighties/early ninety's included Stevie Wonder, Phil Collins, and Kylie Minogue.

Venue for 2009 East Asian Games

The Hong Kong Coliseum was one of the venues for the 5th East Asian Games that was hosted in Hong Kong in 2009.

Accident

On 28 July 2022, during a concert by local boy band Mirror, a moving, elevated giant TV-screen fell from the ceiling of the venue and landed directly on a dancer's head, and further collapsed onto a second dancer. Both dancers were immediately taken to hospital, with one being in serious condition in the ICU and the other being stable. All remaining concerts had to be cancelled and investigations were initiated by the government.[3][4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Yau Tsim Mong District" (PDF). Electoral Affairs Commission. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  2. ↑ Wood, Chris (2018-04-26). "Why the Hong Kong Coliseum was built – to avoid embarrassment". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
  3. ↑ "Mirror: Huge screen falls on dancers at Hong Kong boy band concert".
  4. ↑ "Dancer struck by falling video screen at Mirror concert in Hong Kong may be paralysed from neck down, authorities promise thorough investigation".
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