Olympian City celebrates HK athletes with interactive exhibition on history and glory

Olympian City is launching a photo exhibition to showcase glorious moments of Hong Kong athletes over the decades and introduce the history of sports development in Hong Kong, exhibiting a wide variety of gear and launching interactive zones to delight visitors.

Running until 3 October, the “Inspiration of Hong Kong” photo exhibition, organised by Our Hong Kong Foundation and the Hong Kong Chronicles Institute, sheds light on the achievements of Hong Kong athletes at important international sports events from the 1930s to the present day, and introduces the sports development history of Hong Kong. Inspirational stories of athletes are also shared to encourage the public to learn from their resilience and generate positive energy in the community under the pandemic.

The exhibition consists of two major sections, namely "A Long History" and "Road to Glory". Aimed at promoting the perseverance of local athletes, “A Long History” traces the development and achievements of Hong Kong’s sports sector from the 1930s until now through a series of photos and texts. Moreover, “Road to Glory” zooms in on outstanding athletes after 1997 which explains the Hong Kong government’s effort and the country’s support, helping local athletes to achieve great results over the years.

“Hong Kong’s sports history dates back to a long time ago. It passes the Hong Kong spirit and moving stories from one generation to the next, but sadly, some of these stories are fading away. By shedding light on the history of sports development of our city, and telling inspiring stories of local athletes, the exhibition is meant to inspire and cheer up the people of Hong Kong," said Bernard Charnwut Chan, executive committee chairman of the Hong Kong Chronicles Institute and convenor of the Executive Council of the Hong Kong government.

To enhance interaction, the exhibition includes an interactive fencing experience zone for the public to try out the sport and fun photo backdrops featuring sports scenes. Visitors can learn about fencing and experience the sport first-hand, while they will be offered a gift after hitting the sensor and getting a certain number of points within the time limit. The venue also features creative photo spots, including a trick art zone where visitors can “compete” with Olympic medalist swimmer Siobhan Haughey and Paralympic runner So Wa-wai.

The gear of elite athletes is also on display. The Hong Kong Sports Institute showcases a number of training and competition gear of athletes to the exhibition, including the lamé worn by fencer Edgar Cheung Ka-long at the 2016 Asian Fencing Championships; the swimming gear used by Siobhan Haughey for training, the rainbow jersey of track cyclist Sarah Lee Wai-sze, to name a few.

Lastly, the exhibition also features athletes in sharing sessions, including badminton players such Angus Ng Ka-long and Daniel Chan Ho-yuen, who will have their first meet-and-greet after the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. Other guests of the sharing sessions include former cyclist Wong Kam-po and runner Chan Ka-ho.

"Over the century, we have seen many outstanding athletes from Hong Kong who won accolades at numerous international sports events. Their remarkable accomplishments deserve a wider audience. I hope the visitors of the exhibition will enjoy the precious photos and exhibits, and the exhibition can inspire more exchanges and support to the local sports scene. Hosted in Olympian City, where denotes strong connection with sports, makes the exhibition more special," said Ng, deputy chairman of Sino Group cum chief convenor of the development committee of the Hong Kong Chronicles Institute.

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