The 36th Toronto International Dragon Boat Race Festival, organised by the Toronto Chinese Business Association and supported by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Toronto) (Toronto ETO), welcomed teams from across Canada and around the world on June 15 and 16 (Toronto time), attracting thousands of people to the Centre Island in Toronto to enjoy this annual event.
 
       Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Festival, the Director of the Toronto ETO, Ms Emily Mo, remarked that Toronto ETO is proud to continue the support of the Festival. "Dragon boat race signifies the strong and close ties between Hong Kong and Canada," said Ms Mo. "We brought this modernized water sport from Hong Kong to Canada."
 
       Ms Mo also shared with the audience that Hong Kong is blessed with a constant stream of exciting events this year. "Over 200 mega events is being held throughout 2024, spanning through cultural, arts, music, sports events, conventions and exhibitions on different sectors, as well as traditional festivals, celebrations, galas and carnivals," Ms Mo added. 
 
       Ms Mo encouraged Canadians to visit the events calendar of Hong Kong when planning their itinerary to travel to this Asian World City.  

       On both days of the Festival, the Toronto ETO set up a Hong Kong pavilion with mini-exhibition to showcase the history of dragon boating in Hong Kong. Giveaways were also distributed to the race spectators.
 
       In addition, as one of the highlights of the Festival, the commemorative Hong Kong Cup, sponsored by the Toronto ETO, was presented to one of the dragon boat race winning teams on June 16 (Toronto time).
 
       Toronto ETO has been sponsoring dragon boat racing in different cities across Canada. The dragon boat festivals in Vancouver and Ottawa will be held from June 21 to 23 (Canada time) respectively. 

Ends/Monday, June 17, 2024
Issued at HKT 5:15

NNNN