Revelers dressed up as Donald Trump and several movie
characters watched as Fiji clinched its 16th title at Hong Kong’s
biggest annual social event, the Rugby Sevens.
Fiji beat New Zealand by 21 points to 7 on Sunday in the
final match of the three-day event, claiming its second consecutive
title. Hong Kong eagerly embraced the infusion of visitors -- and cash
-- during the extravaganza as an antidote to sluggish markets, a slump
in Chinese tourism and a precarious property outlook.
The top draw on the city’s entertainment calendar, the event
provides a shot in the arm for the Asian financial hub that is set for
the slowest economic expansion in four years. Fans fueled by thousands
of pints of beer dressed like characters from Ghostbusters and Game of
Thrones to U.S. presidential hopeful Trump as banks and other top
companies hosted clients in pricey corporate boxes.
“Hong Kong Sevens has developed into one of the biggest sports events
in the region,” said Peter Lam Kin-ngok, chairman of the Hong Kong
Tourism Board. “It draws a large flock of rugby fans to our city every
year. Sevens is crucial for reinforcing Hong Kong’s reputation as the
events hub of Asia, and an important means to boost local businesses.”
The event is the seventh of a 10-tournament series held
around the world, and this year also serves as a qualifier for the
summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, where rugby will be included
after a 92-year hiatus. Fiji is leading the
series, with New Zealand second and South Africa third.
Sold Out
As over the last 12 years, three-day tickets for the
40,000-seat Hong Kong Stadium were sold out in advance, at the official
price of HK$1,800 ($232) each. Only in 2003 did the Sevens fail to sell
out, the year when Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, killed
299 people in the city.
Not even heavy rain early on the final day could keep the
masses from showing up in fancy dress and costumes that in past years
have featured angels, bananas and likenesses of North Korean leader Kim
Jong-Un. It’s a voraciously hungry and thirsty crowd, too, with nearly
380,000 pints of beer, 23,000 pies and about 11,000 hot dogs being
consumed, according to suppliers.
The surge in visitors is welcomed by the retailers in the city, which saw
sales plunge in February by the most since 1999 as fewer Chinese tourists visited Hong Kong during the Lunar New Year holiday.
Hong Kong’s entertainment districts, including Lan Kwai
Fong, count on the competition for a big part of their annual revenue.
Fans will spend about 40 percent more during the month in the bar
district than the next best month of the year, December, according
to Allan Zeman, chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Holdings Ltd. Buses are hired
to ferry people from the stadium to the district.
“Sevens is very good financially for the city because you
have people from all over the world coming and spending money,” Zeman
said in an interview. “It’s an amazing event.”
The Excelsior hotel, operated by Mandarin Oriental
International Ltd. and within walking distance of the stadium, has a
“very, very high” occupancy rate during the tournament as in past years,
according to spokeswoman Wings Mok said.
Heart of Sevens
Fiji is the most successful team in the history of the Hong
Kong tournament since it began in 1976. New Zealand, which featured
Jonah Lomu on debut in its 1994 winning side, is the next best with 11
cups. Lomu was selected as one of the seven best players to have
appeared at the event during the past four decades. He died in November
at the age of 40. Among this year’s featured players was New Zealand’s
Sonny Bill Williams and Australia’s Nick Cummins.
“The sort of things that Hong Kong conjures up for overseas
visitors are visions of the harbor and Bruce Lee -- not far behind that
is the Sevens,” Robbie McRobbie, general manager of operations at the
Hong Kong Rugby Football Union, said in a phone interview. “It’s an
iconic event and it’s become part of the fabric of the city in the same
way that the carnival has for Brazil.”
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