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The public consultation on whether Hong Kong should bid to host the 2023 Asian Games will close at midnight today (December 1).
"A detailed report will be submitted to the Legislative Council (LegCo) after we have collated all the views received," a Government spokesman said.
"Hosting the Asian Games will significantly foster sports development in Hong Kong, as well as bring about long-term benefits to society."
He said that support in principle would need to be sought from the Finance Committee of LegCo before a formal bid could be submitted to the Olympic Council of Asia. The formal bid document must be submitted by February 15 next year.
The Venue Sub-Committee of the Asian Games Provisional Bid Committee offered an alternative option which could potentially reduce the direct cost of hosting the Asian Games to less than $6 billion. This option gave the public an opportunity to consider from a fresh perspective whether Hong Kong should bid to host the 2023 Games in the light of the potentially reduced direct capital costs, the benefits that hosting the games could bring to Hong Kong and the opportunity for building up a strong sporting culture for the community and investing in the next generation.
The Home Affairs Bureau organised various consultation forums during the ten-week long period. District Councils were briefed on the consultation document, and views were also collected through different channels such as on-line forums, emails, post boxes and fax.
Ends/Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Issued at HKT 19:08
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