To celebrate the 27th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, members of the public may use most of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD)'s fee-charging leisure and cultural facilities for free as individual users on July 1 (Monday). The event aims at encouraging people to participate in various sports and cultural activities and thereby form good habits, as well as sharing the joy of the special occasion.

     To allow more time for members of the public to select suitable free sessions and for those who have yet to register with SmartPLAY to proceed with the registration, the LCSD will ensure there is adequate time for the public to register, and the sessions for free use of facilities on July 1 will be allocated through balloting. During anytime between June 12 and 18, members of the public can submit a balloting application via SmartPLAY for booking sessions available for free use on July 1. Each user can submit a total of three balloting choices in one application. Applications submitted can be altered before the closing of the application period at 11.59pm on June 18. The computer balloting results will be announced by June 21. Successful applicants will be notified by the SmartPLAY system and no confirmation is required by the applicants. Members of the public, who have not been allocated with or applied for the balloted free sessions, can book the remaining free sessions, if any, via SmartPLAY on a first-come, first-served basis at a later stage. Each person can only book one free session for July 1 irrespective of the type of leisure facilities, either from balloting or first-come, first-served booking.  

     The leisure facilities to be available for free use on July 1 include:

• Indoor leisure facilities: badminton courts, tennis courts, basketball courts, netball courts, volleyball courts, squash courts, table tennis tables, American pool tables, billiard tables, sport climbing walls*, bowling greens, golf facilities, fitness rooms*, activity rooms, dance rooms and a cycling track*; 
• Outdoor leisure facilities: tennis courts, tennis practice courts, bowling greens, batting cages, sport climbing walls*, archery ranges* and golf facilities (excluding camp facilities, sports grounds and artificial as well as natural turf pitches); 
• Public swimming pools (excluding Wan Chai Swimming Pool, and Kowloon Tsai Swimming Pool which is temporarily closed for redevelopment); and 
• Craft at water sports centres* (recreational kayaks, pedal-driven boats, sampans and colour boats at Chong Hing Water Sports Centre are available for free use by campers only).

* Citizens who book these types of facilities must hold the relevant qualification certificates. For details, please visit the thematic website at www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/freeuseday/conditions.html.

     No prior booking is required for public swimming pool facilities. Members of the public may line up at the entrances of swimming pools before the start of a session. Free admission is offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

     The LCSD appeals to hirers to arrive on time and make the best use of the booked facilities. If a hirer fails to take up a booked session 10 minutes after the starting time, the facility will immediately be reallocated to walk-in participants on a first-come, first-served basis. The facility shall be used for the same purpose as that for which it had been booked by the original hirer. The user shall surrender the facility to the original hirer immediately upon the latter's arrival.

     All users of the leisure facilities shall observe the Conditions of Use of LCSD Recreation and Sports Facilities (www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/condition/index.html), including the no-show/not present during the use of the booked sessions ("not present") penalty. An individual hirer who is unable to take up a booked session should cancel the booked facility one day before the start of the booked session(s) through the SmartPLAY system. A no-show/"not present" record will be filed on the hirer when he or she fails to take up a session as booked without on-time completion of the cancellation procedure, or is not present during the use of the booked sessions. Any two such records within 60 consecutive days will result in suspension of booking rights for any of the LCSD's recreation and sports facilities for 90 days.

     Please call 2414 5555 for enquiry or visit the thematic website at www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/freeuseday/index.html.

     For cultural services, free admission will be offered to the fee-charging permanent exhibitions of the Hong Kong Science Museum and the Hong Kong Space Museum (except for the Space Theatre's shows) as well as special exhibition "The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Fragrance of Time - In Search of Chinese Art of Scent" at the Hong Kong Museum of Art on July 1.

     Admission to a range of delightful exhibitions will continue to be free at the Hong Kong Museum of Art, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, the Hong Kong Museum of History, the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, the Hong Kong Railway Museum, the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence, the Fireboat Alexander Grantham Exhibition Gallery, the Law Uk Folk Museum, the Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum, the Sheung Yiu Folk Museum, the Hong Kong Film Archive, the Sam Tung Uk Museum, the Oil Street Art Space (Oi!) and the Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre that day. Members of the public are welcome to visit to share the joy on this special occasion. (Note: The Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum is closed temporarily from May 1 for upgrading the permanent exhibition galleries to enhance the design and presentation, as well as for maintenance and renovation works. It is expected to reopen in the second quarter of 2025.)

Ends/Tuesday, June 11, 2024
Issued at HKT 15:10

NNNN