Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens shares stage with local entertainers as part of “Our HK7s"
「國泰航空/滙豐香港國際七人欖球賽」與本地表演者同台演出
一起成就「我們的七欖」
[12 October 2022, Hong Kong]: The 2022 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens is sharing the stage with local musicians and entertainers from 4-6 November, bringing home the event’s unique theme for a unique year: “Our HK7s”.
Outside of the world class rugby and carnival atmosphere on offer, one of the biggest lures of the 2022 tournament is a rare chance to enjoy live music in an outdoor setting, something many residents have not been able to experience since the advent of the pandemic.
The opportunity to play in front of local audiences is vital for Hong Kong’s live entertainment industry, which has been drastically impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and there can be no better stage to help bring back local entertainment than the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens.
This November Sevens fans can expect the typical full calendar of music and entertainment across the three-day event, from the opening ceremony on Friday right through to the final whistle on Sunday.
“For decades this event has brought the best of the rugby world to the city, and we are excited to showcase some of the best in Hong Kong entertainment for the rugby world in 2022.
“We are confident that our entertainment will delight the fans in stadium, many of whom will be watching their first live music event in years. We are also excited to share the stage with these very talented Hong Kong performers and welcome the return of live sports and entertainment events in the city,” said Robbie McRobbie, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Rugby Union.
Throughout the weekend, RTHK jock Simon Willson and veteran Sevens DJ Simon Southgate, (who will celebrate his 20th year getting bodies rockin’ at the Sevens), will spin discs from the North Stand, sharing the turntable with fellow RTHK personality Ben Cullen, who makes his tournament debut in 2022.
Another key player keeping the event grooving is local music impresario Chris Polanco, who has helped churn out hits for Cantopop legends like Eason Chan, Coco Lee and Joey Yung. Originally from the Dominican Republic, Polanco will put his singing and dancing talents to good use over the weekend in fielding Karaoke requests from fans of the 15 countries taking part in English, Spanish and the universal language of Cantopop!
Don’t call it a comeback for this year’s Sevens – or for Friday night headliners Tai Chi – because Hong Kong’s favourite sports event and the Canto-Rock legends never left.
Founded in 1985, Tai Chi shot to fame after winning the Carlsberg Pop Music Festival awards and earned RTHK’s Best New Act honours the following year. They cemented their reputation as one of Hong Kong’s most successful acts in the city’s “Band Boom” era in the 1980s and 1990s. Tai Chi will get the blood pumping with some of the biggest local rock anthems of the past decades in a musical memory medley on Friday evening.
Saturday night starts the party proper with the island grooves of The Red Stripes, Hong Kong’s premier Ska band who have entertained fans at the Sevens and other rugby events in stadium since 2015. The Stripes have garnered acclaim and fans across the world and shared the stage with some of Ska’s biggest names.
Also appearing Saturday is another staple of the local music scene, The Naggin Eejits! Spanning three continents and four countries, the Naggin Eejits are known for their mix of trad music, Celtic rock, folk and contemporary covers, in other words, the perfect accompaniment for a classic rugby knees-up.
Shadowing the action on the pitch, the competition on stage heats up on Sevens Sunday with South African born singer-songwriter Eli Zeolo and the United Band appearing. Eli moved to Hong Kong in 2015 after landing the role of Nala in the The Lion King musical here. Since then she has gone on to record and perform in English and Chinese, and across genres from soul, hip-hop to blues and rock.
Rounding-up our musical roster on Sunday are Helium3, perhaps the perfect accompaniment to the event, given they love the Sevens so much they wrote a song about it, fittingly entitled, “South Stand”. The band were previous runners up in the Hong Kong Battle of the Bands, and have produced two original albums and cracked the top 40 charts in Hong Kong.
It would not be a Sevens without a few rugby stars and fans could find themselves rubbing (massive) shoulders with some legends of the game in the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens Ambassadors including the one and only Waisale Serevi, Fiji’s king of sevens. He is joined by ex New Zealand All Black Sevens captain DJ Forbes, England stars Phil Greening and Simon Shaw, Australia’s Adam Ashley-Cooper and former Welsh international Andy Powell.
The team of Ambassadors will be united in promoting the return of the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens but things could get tense around some of the several enticing rugby rivalries on offer over the weekend.
Friday offers the definitive Brexit bout when France, who last ran out for their first Cup final appearance in Hong Kong in 2019, take on Great Britain at 17:37. Hong Kong open their account in Friday’s finale with a throw-it-to-the-wind chance against Australia, who wear the heavy mantle of defending series champions in the last match of the day at 19.03.
Saturday takes the intensity to another level with South Africa squaring away with Great Britain (13:10), Hong Kong facing the might of the All Blacks Sevens at (13:35), and a trans-Tasman clash between Australia and New Zealand to close out day two at 18:03.
Gates open at 07.03 on Sunday for 21 do-or-die clashes as the race for the Cup heats up with the final kick off at 19.00.
Throw in a pinch of pyrotechnics, a sprinkling of sparklers and several spangled dancers, and one or two Sevens surprises up our sleeves, and all of the makings are there for another superlative Sevens!
With Hong Kong’s rugby community queuing up to celebrate the first Sevens since 2019, a festive weekend is on offer with three days of world-class sport, entertainment and live music at the 2022 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens.
Tickets can be purchased via the official Hong Kong Rugby Union ticketing platform: www.tickets.hkrugby.com. All tickets are sold on a first come, first served basis. Prices are frozen at 2019 levels with a three-day event pass at $1,950 for adults and $950 for children 12 and under while supplies last.
For more information on the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens please visit: www.hksevens.com.
Information and Photo Source : Elite Step Asia Limited / Hong Kong Rugby Union
[2022年10月12日，香港]: 即將於11月4至6日舉行的2022 年「國泰航空/滙豐香港國際七人欖球賽」將與一眾本地音樂人和表演者共享舞台，在此獨特之年一起成就今年特別的主題：「我們的七欖」。
除了享譽國際的欖球競技和嘉年華氣氛外，於戶外欣賞現場音樂表演是2022年賽事的另一賣點， 也是廣大市民自疫情大流行以來久違了的體驗。
對於飽受疫情影響的香港演藝界而言，能夠在本地觀眾面前演出的機會相當重要，而「國泰航空/滙豐香港國際七人欖球賽」是為香港演藝界注入活力的不二之選。
今年11月，「七欖」迷將一如既往般由周五晚的開幕禮起至周日終場哨聲為止，一連三日沉醉於連綿不絕的音樂和娛樂表演中。
香港欖球總會行政總裁麥偉彬先生（Robbie McRobbie）說:「數十年來，這項賽事為香港帶來了最悅目的欖球比賽，我們很高興能在2022年將香港最精彩的娛樂活動傳遍世界各地。
大部分的入場觀眾在這幾年內都未有機會欣賞過現場音樂，我們有信心他們將喜歡場內的娛樂節目。我們也很高興與這些才華洋溢的本地表演者同台演出，並且一同歡迎現場體育和娛樂活動回歸香港。」
香港電台的唱片騎師Simon Willson 以及於香港大球場「搖滾」達20年的資深「七欖」唱片騎師 Simon Southgate，將聯同首次於賽事中登場的香港電台人氣代表Ben Cullen 在北看台的唱片轉盤上為賽事和球迷帶動氣氛。
曾與本地著名歌手如陳奕迅、李玟及容祖兒合作的全能音樂家Chris Polanco（陳杰）也是帶動今屆賽事氣氛的關鍵人物。原藉多明尼加的Chris 居港22年，他將盡情發揮歌舞天賦，為來自大多數以英語、西班牙語和廣東話為主的15個國家及地區的球迷現場助興，一起「Jam歌」！
我們不能夠以「捲土重來」來形容今年的「七欖」或周五晚上的領銜樂隊，因為這家傳戶曉的體壇盛事和廣東話搖滾傳奇—— 太極樂隊一直與大家同在。
太極樂隊於1985年成立，贏得嘉士伯流行音樂節獎項後一舉成名，並於次年獲得港台最佳新人獎。在1980年代和1990年代，香港樂隊百花齊放，而他們也奠定了香港最成功的樂隊之一的地位。太極樂隊將於周五傍晚演奏多首紅遍幾十年的名曲。
The Red Stripes將為周六晚的派對打頭陣，其眾所周知的牙買加音樂風格自2015年便在「七欖」和大球場的其他欖球賽事中為球迷帶來歡樂。自此，他們便揚名海外，並不時與牙買加的響噹噹音樂人同台演出。
Naggin Eejits是另一支在周六演出的本地音樂團隊！Naggin Eejits的成員來自三大洲和四個國家，他們的音樂以揉合了傳統音樂、凱爾特搖滾（Celtic rock)、民謠和翻唱現代流行曲而聞名，是經典欖球派對的完美伴奏。
「七欖」周日的表演舞台將隨著球場上的比賽升溫，南非出生的唱作歌手Eli Zeolo和 United Band將隆重登台。Eli 於2015在香港上演的「獅子王」音樂劇中飾演 Nala 一角後留港發展，她自此以錄製和表演中英文音樂為主，藝術類型覆蓋騷靈音樂、嘻哈、藍調和搖滾。
特地為「七欖」創作了 “South Stand” 一曲的Helium3將於周日壓軸出場，從該曲可見他們熱愛賽事之程度。這支曾奪得Hong Kong Battle of the Bands亞軍的樂隊已有兩張原創專輯，並闖入本地流行音樂榜前40名。
多位 「國泰航空/滙豐香港國際七人欖球賽」大使包括獨一無二的斐濟「七欖」球皇撒力菲（Waisale Serevi）、前新西蘭隊長科比斯（DJ Forbes）、英格蘭雙星格寧（Phil Greening）和施蒙梳爾 （Simon Shaw）、澳洲的艾當艾殊利高巴（Adam Ashley-Cooper），以及前威爾斯國腳安迪鮑維 （Andy Powell）將參與「七欖」不可或缺的球迷互動。
這班大使將攜手推動「國泰航空/滙豐香港國際七人欖球賽」的回歸，但隨著賽事的展開，欖球間的敵對之情難免升溫。
在賽程方面，2019年決賽分子法國將於首日下午5時37分碰上英格蘭，而在主場勇往直前的港隊在同日尾場遇上力爭衛冕系列賽寶座的澳洲。
周六的賽程更加激烈，南非與英格蘭短兵相接（下午1時10分），港隊與新西蘭於下午1時35分切磋，周六尾場（晚上6時03分）由澳洲和新西蘭上演「南半球大戰」。
觀眾可於周日早上7時03分開始入場，準備欣賞銀盃爭霸戰的21場許勝不許敗的比賽， 銀盃決賽將於晚上7時鳴笛。
煙火、小型煙花和閃亮舞者們，以及一些神袐驚喜，這些都預示著另一個頂級「七欖」 已經準備就緒！
香港欖球界已列隊準備慶祝自2019年以來的首個「七欖」，一連三日集世界級體育、娛樂和現場音樂於一身的2022年「國泰航空/滙豐香港國際七人欖球賽」將隆重登場。
門票於欖總官方售票網站 www.tickets.hkrugby.com 公開發售。所有門票先到先得，售完即止。票價維持 2019 年的價格，分別是成人三日門票港幣1,950元和12歲及以下的兒童三日門票港幣950元。
有關「國泰航空/滙豐香港國際七人欖球賽」詳情，可瀏覽：www.hksevens.com。
資料及相片來源 : Elite Step Asia Limited / Hong Kong Rugby Union
