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2,000 Teddy Bears, 200 Christmas Trees and Over Ten Show Titles with 50 Class Acts at Nearly 50 Different Attractions – and More at Ocean Park!
(Hong Kong - 11 December 2008) Sounds of joy and awe filled the air at today’s Ocean Park Christmas Sensation 2008 media preview, which stunned media guests with 13 Christmas attractions, more than 35 animal and entertainment attractions, and up to 50 eclectic performances. Highlights included Ice Odyssey – a riveting skating spectacle starring an international cast of award-winning skaters from nine countries - and Touch the Sky, a mid-air adventure featuring the best and most daring aerial troupe in the Pacific making their debut performance in Hong Kong today.
The event was also speckled with other surprises such as Santa’s Holiday Express where guests giggled with glee at the fun scenes from Santa’s toy factory and Madagascar 2 Live where exciting and interactive safari games were played by all. The event culminated with an idyllic lighting ceremony for the 200 Christmas trees nestled in Hong Kong’s first Christmas Forest.
There to spread the joy today was Miss Joyce Cheng Yan-yee, a beloved child star who’s now bloomed into a fine lady. “Having spent many years in Canada watching countless skating shows, I’m really amazed at the world-class standard of the Ice Odyssey cast,” said Miss Cheng. “It was truly one of the most stunning and captivating performances I have ever seen.” Together with Ocean Park Chairman Dr. Allan Zeman, the host of today’s event, they became the first to experience Santa’s Holiday Express and to take photos with 2,000 cuddly teddy bears.
For a climatic finale at the Christmas Starlight Forest made ip of 200 Christmas trees, Dr. Zeman and Joyce both sang festive carols with 40 local primary school children, and officiated a tree-lighting ceremony under the Park’s shimmering 40-foot Christmas Tree. The 200 trees were decorated by more than 70 organizations from of the community - including schools, universities, eight out of the 18 district councils and international business chambers - using environmentally-friendly materials and with four unique themes in mind: “cyber”, “romance”, Swire Coca-Cola presents: “conservation” and LG presents: “around the world”. Between 13 to 27 December, guests to Ocean Park will be invited to vote for The Best Tree in Town*. This will entitle them to enter a lucky draw and win an Ocean Park SmartFun annual pass with an attractive bonus - a spot in the Dolphin Encounter programme!
Dr. Zeman said, “Ocean Park’s thrilled to have created the first Christmas forest in Hong Kong for the people of this vibrant city. We are delighted with the involvement of the community in decorating these trees and to heighten the festive spirits. We are really excited with our 35 regular and 13 Christmas attractions, as well as 10 show titles with 50 daily performances. Ocean Park is the only place to be this holiday season!”
Ocean Park Christmas Sensation 2008 runs from 13 December 2008 to 4 January 2009. One of the major highlights at the Lowland section, Touch the Sky, is a 15-minute original production about a dream to reach a wonderful place beyond the sky. In a series of beautifully choreographed acts, the aerial performers use silk cloths, chairs, trapeze and more to take the audience on an exciting journey to touch the sky. For something completely different, guests can roam the exotic African plains with the wild n’ wacky crew of Madagascar 2 Live, party with them at the Watering Hole Disco or join in on interactive games at the Repair Challenge.
Over at the Tai Shue Wan Plaza, Ocean Park’s all-time favourite skating performance produced by Las Vegas producer Jeb Rand, is a seamless combination of skating, aerial acts, dance and comedy performances on real ice. Ice Odyssey features more than 20 champion skaters from nine countries, including the US, the Czech Republic, Argentina, Ukraine and Russia.
Over in the Lowland, the traditional African Drum Troupe which will pound up a storm five times a day, leaving guests oohing and ahhing. Also around the Park, there will be Parkwide Festive Galore with its street shows at every corner. But don’t forget to leave without a memento! Kids can bring home a piece of art they make themselves at the Christmas Academy in Kids’ World. All over the Park, everyone can pick gifts for loved ones from nearly 40 retail and game items, which are on top of the thousands of regular favourites. All the restaurants and kiosks will serve thousands of delectable food items, of which 60 are brimming with the Yuletide flavour.
To further spread the joy, Ocean Park is offering everyone a 10% discount on their Ocean Park admission ticket by first making a wish on the Christmas Greeting Tree website homepage. In addition, from now until 25 December, Ocean Park will present one well-wisher who forwards the most greeting e-cards from the Ocean Park website to friends** with two free Ocean Park admission tickets.
*For further details of “The Best Tree in Town”, shows and attractions, please refer to the attached fact sheets.
**Email recipients will need to open the email within three days. Please visit http://www.oceanpark.com.hk/christmas/tch/ for details.
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Sponsored by:
LG & Swire Coca-Cola
About Ocean Park
Ocean Park is Hong Kong’s unique homegrown theme park with a heritage of delivering family fun and fond memories. Since its opening in January 1977 as a non-profit organisation, Ocean Park has developed itself to be a world-class attraction connecting people with nature, and recognised for its animal husbandry, research and relationship with the community. Over 90 million people have visited Hong Kong's premier park since its inception and Ocean Park has remained committed to offering adults and children experiences that blend entertainment with education and conservation. Part of the proceeds from the Ocean Park admission tickets and some retail items will go to Ocean Park Conservation Foundation, Hong Kong to support its wildlife conservation projects.
