Hong Kong may be halfway through Mega 8, the city’s new name for its months-long lineup of major arts, culture, and sporting events, but the undoubted highlight is this week’s Art Basel Hong Kong. The fair has become a must-attend for locals and a major draw for international visitors, with attendance reaching 80,400 in 2024 and 86,500 last year.
As such, it is no surprise that the city has signed a new agreement with Art Basel to ensure it remains the region’s sole host for another five years. Rosanna Law, the special administrative region’s culture secretary, announced the deal on Wednesday, which calls for Art Basel to expand the fair in both scale and impact.
“We will actively complement the Art Basel fair with top-tier cultural performances and Hong Kong’s mega events, so that attending collectors and art appreciators can experience our city’s unique cultural atmosphere and its charms,” she said, according to Radio Television Hong Kong.
While Law confirmed that the fair will continue to be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, she said satellite events or large-scale installations could be staged at Kai Tak Sports Park, a new sports and entertainment venue with a capacity of more than 50,000 that officially opened in 2025 with a series of performances by Coldplay.
Law emphasized that Art Basel’s engagement with the city will extend far beyond the March fair, pointing to public art education and art market research as new areas for collaboration.
“We will have more opportunities. It doesn’t have to be only during the fair in March,” she said. “During other periods we can also collaborate with Art Basel to bring more art activities not only to collectors and artists, but also to our art-loving friends in Hong Kong, and most importantly, to students and children.”
Also on Wednesday, the city announced a new collaboration with Art Basel called Digital Art @Central, which brings digital works by DeeKay to the Central district. The project, which features 100 different characters representing Hong Kong residents, will be projected onto the facade of the Hong Kong Club nightly through March 29.
“Beyond the skyline and landmarks, I wanted to reflect the city as a living, moving place shaped by its people, its rhythm, and its cultural vibrancy,” DeeKay Kwon, whose work draws inspiration from retro video games, said in a statement.
Installation view of DeePle the People by the artist DeeKay in Hong Kong.
