On this day | Jean-Michel Jarre spectacular fizzles but does not bang during 1994 reopening of Hong Kong Stadium – from the SCMP archive
- On the 30th anniversary of Jean-Michel Jarre’s performance during the reopening night of the Hong Kong Stadium, we look at how the Post covered the event on March 11, 1994
French musician Jean-Michel Jarre performed at the opening ceremony of the Hong Kong Stadium in So Kon Po. We look at the Post’s coverage of the performance, its reception and the aftermath in the days that followed.
Razzle, dazzle: what a fizzle
Thousands of disappointed people voted Jean-Michel Jarre’s promised laser, light, firework and musical spectacular a fizzler and many walked out on the French star.
While those who stayed until the end gave him a warm round of applause, others thought the HK$11 million cost of flying Jarre and his vast technical crew and laser and light show to Hong Kong was money ill-spent.
And the no-show of Canto-pop star Anita Mui was another blow for fans and organisers.
According to an Urban Council spokesman, TVB announced at the last minute that Mui would not be performing because of the contractual restrictions laid down by Jarre.
Instead she will be part of the TVB event to be held at the stadium the next day.
The three-hour show on opening night included marching bands, scantily-clad Brazilian dancers, dragon dancers and 2,000 school students who put on a flash-card display.
Singer and co-compere Frances Yip became the first person to sing at the stadium, choosing the Tina Turner hit “Simply the Best”.
The crowd then joined in a chorus of happy birthday for the stadium.
The official attendance at the gala opening was 38,941. Most had paid just HK$50 to be there for the historical event.
Governor Chris Patten attended the opening, along with Jockey Club chairman and Legislative Council President John Swaine.
Together they handed over the key to the stadium to Urbco chairman Dr Ronald Leung Ding-bong.
Law bears up amid surging crowd
Police were forced to use drastic safety measures to control the huge crowds of people heading for the Hong Kong Stadium on its opening night.
Most of the 39,000 who attended arrived at the last minute.
The pavements outside the stadium were unable to cope with the surge and people spilled on to the roads into the path of cars and taxis. The press was such that several heavy earthenware tree pots and solid metal rubbish bins were tipped over.
Police were forced to ban vehicles from Caroline Hill Road and Eastern Hospital Road 30 minutes before the event began.
A police spokesman said they would bring in more crash barriers to contain the crowds expected for the event, the first Canto-pop concert at the stadium. Robin Oram, managing director of stadium managers Wembley International, said he would be meeting police and other emergency services for a full post-concert debriefing.
Jarre explodes as fuse snuffed out of fireworks
In a piece published on March 14, 1994, the covered Jean-Michel Jarre’s own disappointment over the show.
“The music, the lasers, the pyrotechnics – all three aspects together make up my show. With the fireworks being banned it virtually destroyed the concept I had spent many weeks devising,” Jarre said.
“I felt that it was better to resurrect what little we could of the show and go on so as not to disappoint the people of Hong Kong completely.”
