On the banks of Kowloon Bay, the main venue of Kai Tak Sports Park is brightly lit. Professional air cushion translation equipment and lifting equipment collaborate accurately, and the mixed turf interwoven with 95% real grass and 5% artificial grass is being smoothly lifted and orderly transported to the exclusive nursery through special mobile turf technology. Deng Jingcheng, Director of Strategic Development at Qide Sports Park, said, "After the 15th National Games, we will take away the lawn and transform the main venue into a venue for cultural performances, providing customized supporting facilities and services for various high-level activities." Since the official opening of Qide Sports Park on March 1, 2025, Qide Sports Park has completed more than 10 precise operations of "lawn relay" to meet different needs such as sports events, concerts, cultural celebrations, etc. In 2025, Hong Kong will write its annual report with intensive events. The Asian Financial Forum kicked off, the National Games ignited the enthusiasm of the whole nation, and the international cultural and entertainment feast came to an end. This international metropolis showcased its "hardcore" carrying capacity and innovative vitality through a series of heavyweight events. The top tier grand event has created a new business card for the "capital of grand events". For me, this place itself is a "magnificent transformation". ”Standing in front of the main venue of Kai Tak Sports Park, Deng Jingcheng sighed. Many years ago, he was stationed here as the commander of the Kai Tak Airport Police District; Now, as a park manager, he is witnessing the transformation of this former airport site into an important engine for Hong Kong's "capital of events". In 2025, Kai Tak Sports Park will be like an endless stage: at the beginning of the year, the Hong Kong International Sevens rugby match will be fiercely contested, at the peak of the Hong Kong football festival in the middle of the year, the Golden Autumn National Games will shine brightly, and at the end of the year, Zhou Shen's New Year's Eve concert will end warmly. This has witnessed Hong Kong's shining moments as the 'capital of major events'. In less than a year, the sports park has delivered outstanding results: hosting over 90 international and local events, receiving more than 7 million visitors, and ranking among the leading global ticketing sales. As the annual finale of cultural and entertainment performances, tickets for Zhou Shen's New Year's Eve concert sold out within 3 minutes of opening. Chen Zhiguo, General Manager of Era Cube Culture, the producer of the concert, stated that the spatial scale, comprehensive supporting capabilities, and distinct urban symbolic significance of Kai Tak allow non local audiences to not only experience music, but also gain a better understanding of Hong Kong. It is understood that the activities at the Kai Tak Sports Park venues have been scheduled until 2027. The Director of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government's Bureau of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Rosamund Law, stated that one of the core values of hosting major events is to unite the hearts of society, strengthen national identity, and inject momentum into the cultural integration of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area. The grand event dividend activates the city's economy. The Hong Kong time-honored tea restaurant Xiangxiangyuan Kai Tak branch, located not far from the main venue, is experiencing a peak in foot traffic since its opening. Mr. Liang, the restaurant manager, said that with the intensive hosting of major events, the proportion of tourists continues to rise, and large-scale events directly contribute more than 20% to the restaurant's revenue. He said that during the event, he was almost so busy that he didn't touch the ground. Many tourists would follow the recommendations on social media to order food, and would actively inquire about local specialties and good places to visit in the surrounding area. The "grand event dividend" of the National Games is spreading like ripples to the Kowloon region and even the whole of Hong Kong. In order to better receive tourists, businesses have launched special services and promotional activities: hotels offer packages related to sports events and cultural performances, restaurants innovate dishes and star special drinks, and strengthen the linkage experience between local catering and events. The Special Administrative Region government, with "event driven and comprehensive tourism" as its core, has launched a series of measures through policy support, resource integration, and cross disciplinary collaboration to implement the concept of "tourism everywhere" and promote the deep integration of culture, sports, and tourism. I went to Kai Tak three times to watch football matches, and after the matches, I went to a small shop in Kowloon City for supper. The shop owners were looking forward to hosting more grand events because everyone would come to consume before and after the matches. ”Luo Shupei happily expressed that the continuous events have made the atmosphere of Hong Kong's "city that never sleeps" even stronger. "Central and Tsim Sha Tsui are still crowded at night, and we hope to continue this atmosphere. The grand event itself is a powerful drainage device. ”According to Yang Shufen, Secretary General of the Hong Kong Tourism Industry Council, the number of visitors to Hong Kong during the National Games exceeded 1.7 million, a year-on-year increase of 19%. In addition to watching the competition, tourists will also experience various tourism products in Hong Kong, such as experiencing the "industrial tourism" promoted by the Tourism Industry Council and checking in at the Independent Commission Against Corruption caf é. The grand event economy has driven the recovery and growth of the tourism industry. As of November 2025, Hong Kong has received 45 million passengers, exceeding the total number for the whole year of 2024, especially with a significant increase in long-distance travelers from places such as the UK, Australia, and Russia. The visa free policy introduced by the government, combined with convenient transportation such as high-speed rail and the Hong Kong Zhuhai Macao Bridge, has greatly promoted the 'multi station' tourism model. ”Yang Shufen said. The grand event empowers Hong Kong tourism to experience the warmth of Kowloon City at the end of the year. Tourists explore the Kai Tak Sports Park through a "smart tourism" software - the "City Scenery" app. This AR application, which has won the UNESCO Asia Pacific Cultural Heritage Conservation Award, uses technological means to "revive" the collective memory of Kai Tak and engage in a "spatiotemporal dialogue" with the modern venues of the sports park. Start AR, and the mobile phone lens is aimed at the direction of the main venue. The mudflat in 1927 and the new landmark in the Bay Area are clearly compared on the screen. The image of the logo of Qide Airport, old style passenger planes and passengers queuing for check-in can be clearly seen near the Qide Retail Pavilion. The "Hong Kong Tourism Development Blueprint 2.0" released at the end of 2024 proposes a development strategy of "promoting smart tourism". Yang Shufen believes that the future of Hong Kong's events is to empower the deep integration of "events+tourism" with technology, allowing tourists to "come for an event" to become "stay for a city", and making the charm of the "city of events" even more profound in every leisurely stroll. Luo Shupei believes that the fusion and coexistence of Chinese and Western cultures is the distinctive background of Hong Kong, and its strong carrying capacity for diverse needs and unique integration endowment make Hong Kong a key window connecting the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area to the world. When the light and shadow of Victoria Harbour intertwine to create a New Year atmosphere, the grand event prologue of 2026 has quietly begun, and various activities such as cultural and sports carnival, business exchange, international competitions, etc. will also appear one after another to light up the whole year. This city, between bidding farewell and welcoming, inheriting and innovating, continues to write a new chapter of vitality for the Pearl of the Orient. (New Society)