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Recreation, sport and the arts provide an opportunity for people in Hong Kong
to improve their quality of life. The Government helps to nurture an environment in
which creative freedom, a pluralist approach to the development of the arts, sporting
excellence and recreation can thrive.
Government policies on matters concerning sport, recreation, culture and
heritage are coordinated by the Home Affairs Bureau. Organisations that help to
draw up these policies include the Hong Kong Sports Commission, the Hong Kong
Sports Institute, the former Culture and Heritage Commission, the Hong Kong Arts
Development Council and the Antiquities Advisory Board.
The Hong Kong Sports Institute Limited was set up as a delivery agent to help
develop sports in Hong Kong with special emphasis on training athletes for high-performance
sports. In January 2005, the Government established the Sports
Commission to advise on all matters related to sports development. The commission,
in turn, is advised by the Elite Sports Committee, the Major Sports Events Committee
and the Community Sports Committee which it oversees. The new administrative arm
is a milestone for sports development in Hong Kong.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), an executive branch of the
Home Affairs Bureau, helps to provide leisure and cultural services to the community,
preserves its cultural heritage, beautifies its physical environment, and to foster
synergy with sports, cultural and community organisations.
The department continued to play a role in enhancing Hong Kong's image as
Asia's world city, developing the performing arts, cultivating creativity and sustaining
lifelong interest in the arts.
It is responsible for promoting and developing recreation and sport at the
community level. It coordinates the provision of quality recreational and sports
facilities and supports and organises training programmes and activities to promote
community sports, identify sporting talent and raise sporting standards.
The department also works closely with the District Councils, the national sports
associations (NSAs) under the auspices of the Sports Federation and Olympic
Committee of Hong Kong, China, district sports associations and schools to promote
the concept of 'Sport for All' and to encourage people of all ages and from all walks
of life to participate in sports and recreational activities.
The LCSD supported the Government's greening policy during the year by
carrying out an extensive programme involving the planting of trees in parks,
playgrounds and roadsides. In addition, various educational and community greening
activities were organised to strengthen public awareness of the importance of an
environmentally friendly Hong Kong.
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