'5-year deal with Art Basel brings economic benefits'

Culture chief Rosanna Law on Sunday said Hong Kong's recently inked multi-year partnership with Art Basel will bring many economic benefits and job opportunities to the city. The agreement with Art Basel will see the SAR becoming the prestigious international art fair's sole host in the region for the next five years. Speaking on a TVB programme, the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism revealed that Hong Kong faced competition in hosting the fair in the past. “Large-scale exhibitions like Art Basel, whether it is held in Hong Kong or somewhere else in Asia, will always attract a great deal of interest from different people. Many people would also offer incentives in order to host the fair,” she said. “As [Art Basel] offers a lot of benefits to our tourism, culture and arts, and business transactions, others would also notice it and fight for it.” Law said the government’s support for the annual art show helped the city win the five-year deal, adding that the fair would bring added economic benefits for the SAR and job opportunities in sectors related to the art and the exhibition industries. She also expects the volume of art transactions in the city to grow steadily, especially with a strong buyers' market in Asia. Separately, Law said the government would review key performance indicators for the Kai Tak Sports Park. She also said the facility might introduce emerging sports activities such as indoor car racing in the future. Edited by Aaron Tam