The coming 11th edition of Hong Kong’s largest LGBTQ carnival has been cancelled after the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority backed out of offering an event venue without giving any reason, organisers have said.
The organising committee for Pink Dot HK said on Thursday that this year’s free pride event, which was originally scheduled for October 12, would be cancelled as they could not secure a venue. The team apologised to everyone involved.
The organisers said they had spoken with the authority earlier in the year about renting Art Park for this year’s Pink Dot.
“However, while we were busy with planning and preparations, we were notified by West Kowloon that the venue could not be rented to us, without any explanation provided,” the committee said.
“Given the tight timeline and the already limited options for suitable outdoor venues, it was extremely challenging for us to secure an alternative venue on such short notice.”
“With that, we have had to make the difficult decision to cancel this year’s Pink Dot HK event.”
In a reply to the South China Morning Post, the authority said it would not comment on individual cases.
“West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) reviews venue hire applications in accordance with established procedures,” it said.
Pink Dot HK celebrated its 10th anniversary at the same venue last year, managing to amass more than 36 corporate sponsors, the most in the event’s history. Companies backing the festival included large multinational businesses, such as HSBC, Prudential Hong Kong and Manulife.
The 2023 event, which attracted more than 13,000 visitors, was also held at the Art Park and marked a return to its outdoor format for the first time since 2018.
In 2022, the event was held at the now-defunct Kowloon International Trade and Exhibition Centre, while previous editions were also held at the West Kowloon Cultural District and Tamar Park in Admiralty. The event was cancelled in 2019, with organisers at the time citing the “current political and social unrest and the escalating violence”.
Inspired by Singapore’s annual Pink Dot festival, which launched in 2009, the local iteration has become Hong Kong’s largest annual LGBTQ carnival.
