Eager revellers throng harbour for fireworks

Revellers hoping to watch the national day fireworks were gathering along Victoria Harbour to secure a spot hours before the display even began on Tuesday. “We planned ahead for this and bought different kinds of equipment. We started queuing very early, hoping to find the best spot for photos," said a tourist surnamed Chen. Another spectator, surnamed Tang, brought his child to see the show and said the combination of fireworks and drones piqued his interest. For businesses along the harbour, the fireworks display was a shot in the arm. A restaurant near the Tsim Sha Tsui harbourfront said patrons were more willing to spend, and that it expects business to double during the show. "Tables with better views had been booked up quickly... [The display] certainly has a positive impact. Drones and fireworks have boosted our sales," said general manager Austin Liu. Rockie Ip, director of operations of Harbour Cruise – Bauhinia, said the local firm will be carrying a total of 1,100 people in the evening on the three cruises its operating, with 70 percent of them coming from the mainland. “Some mainland customers were concerned if there'd be typhoon in Hong Kong or not... We noticed that more people tended to book for a place in the two or three days prior," he told an RTHK programme. A five minute-drone show, featuring about 600 drones forming patterns of pandas and the number “75”, will precede the fireworks display, according to the production company behind the extravaganza. Following the drone show, the 23-minute fireworks display, involving 31,888 firing shells, will commence over the skies above Victoria Harbour.