URA Hosts Photography Exhibition on Hong Kong Paralympic Athletes at YM²

To celebrate the remarkable success of Hong Kong’s athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and the 11th National Games for Persons with Disabilities, the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) hosted the opening ceremony for the Paralympic Photography Exhibition (The Exhibition) at Kwun Tong’s YM² today(3 December 2021). The theme for the Exhibition centres around the achievements of the Paralympic athletes, and features photographs, several Paralympic torches, and medals won by athletes from previous Paralympic Games. The event aims to recognise the contribution of and efforts by every athlete and to garner public support for the development of Para Sports in Hong Kong. The opening ceremony was officiated by Guests of Honour, Ir Wai Chi-sing, Managing Director of URA, Dr James Lam, Chairman of the Hong Kong Paralympic Committee & Sports Association for the Physically Disabled (HKPC&SAPD,) Mr Wilson Or Chong-shing, Chairman of Kwun Tong District Council, Mr Steve Tse Ling-chun, District Officer (Kwun Tong,) and Mr Daryl Ng Win-kong, Deputy Chairman of Sino Group.

At the opening ceremony, Ir Wai Chi-sing expressed delight that the first joint event organised by the URA and the Hong Kong Paralympic Committee & Sports Association for the Physically Disabled has created many “firsts” in Hong Kong. He said, “This is the first time Hong Kong is holding a major, two-month Paralympic Games-themed photography exhibition that will integrate visual arts with sports. In addition to photographic works, the event will feature for the first time ever, Paralympic torches and Paralympic medals. Another “first” is the use of three-dimensional materials to create interactive tactile Art based on photographs taken of the Paralympic events. Coupled with the application of the Tactile-Audio Interaction System, even visually-impaired people can explore the world of sports - through touch.

Dr James Lam, Chairman of HKPC&SAPD, said at the ceremony, “We are delighted to be invited by the URA to co-organise The Exhibition and the Para Sports Experience Zone for the public to have a better understanding of Para sports. We have always been an avid advocate of integrating sports into the lives of the physically disabled to encourage them to take up sports to improve their health and vitality.”

During the inter-para sports demonstration session, Tokyo Paralympic Hong Kong boccia representatives, Lau Wai-yan Vivian and Wong Kwan-hang, played a friendly game to showcase their professional skills and invited the “novices” to join the games. These “novices” include Ir Wai Chi-sing, Managing Director of URA, top Para Badminton Paralympians Chan Ho-yuen and 11th National Games for Persons with Disabilities swimmer Cheong Sui-kei, versus Para Badminton Paralympians Chu Man-kai, 11th National Games for Persons with Disabilities swimmer Wong Hon-yin and table tennis player Lee Ming-yip. Both medallists, who had their first try out at boccia, expressed their excitement towards their new attempts. “This kind of inter-para sports session is quite a new experience to me. I really enjoyed it,” Chan Ho-yuen recalled. “This had been a great opportunity to learn from these two top boccia players,” Chu added. The two top badminton players hoped the event would be a good start to encourage the impaired to participate in sports actively, and further promote sports development.

The Exhibition features more than 100 photos from the Games, as well as three Paralympic torches, a cauldron and 15 medals from Paralympic medallists. To foster social inclusion, the exhibits also include several interactive tactile art pieces created from photographs taken at the Paralympic Games. At a sharing session, the official photographers of the Hong Kong Delegation at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, Chan Cheung-ho and Ng Cheuk-kai, talked about their photography experience and recounted the memorable and interesting stories behind each photo.

The Exhibition will take place between 4 December 2021 to 15 February 2021 at UG Lobby, YM². The Para Sports experiential zone will open for public enjoyment every weekend to promote social awareness for Para Sports and encourage physically-disabled people to develop an interest in sports. The weekly schedules are as follow: