Cheers, music, and lights broke through the roof of the Kai Tak Stadium on Friday as fans old and new joined the opening day of the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens for the “best weekend of the year”.
Following eight hours of action, 21 matches, and hundreds of points, the city’s Sports Minister Rosanna Law Shuk-pui and former Australian rugby player Michael Hooper performed the traditional “eye-dotting” ceremony for five dragons on the pitch at the start of a thumping opening ceremony.
Accompanied by lights and drums, the dragon dance formed the number “50,” followed by robot dances and large-scale laser projections.
The performance celebrated the 50th anniversary of the tournament and its second year at the new stadium since moving from Hong Kong Stadium in Causeway Bay.
K-pop girl group Primrose and Filipino singer-songwriter Gwyn Dorado performed a medley of Korean and English songs, including Takedown, Don’t Stop Believin’, and Light Up.
The two acts also performed a duet of Zoo, the theme from Zootopia 2. The lyrics, “the only reason we are here is to celebrate in a place where anyone can be anything,” ignited the crowd.