HONG KONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - 18 November 2017 - The 7^th FUNtastic QRE Festival ("the Festival"), organised by Hopewell Holdings Limited, successfully kicked off today.

The FUNtastic QRE Festival 2017 is one of the highlight events of Hong Kong Great November Feast, organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board. The Festival includes the QRE Wine and Whisky Walk and the QRE Carnival. The former began at 2pm today while the popular QRE Carnival will be held on 25-26 November.

The opening ceremony of the FUNtastic QRE Festival was held at Open Piazza of Hopewell Centre today. Officiating guests of the ceremony included: Mr William Wong, Executive Director of Hopewell Holdings Limited; Mr Bruce Leung, Director of Hopewell Asset Management Limited; Mr Stephen Ng, BBS, MH, JP, Chairman of Wan Chai District Council, Mr Ng Ka Kui, Liaison Officer of Wan Chai District Office Community Affairs Section of Home Affairs Department, Miss Becky Lee Pui Ling, District Leisure Manager (Wan Chai) of Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Mr Mason Hung, General Manager of Hong Kong Tourism Board Event & Product Development and Mr William Chan, General Manager of Lee Tung Avenue Management Co. Ltd. A number of members of the Wan Chai District Council also attended the ceremony to wish the Festival a great success.

"The Wan Chai district has developed rapidly in recent years, but the unique local characters and living culture remain unchanged," Mr William Wong, Executive Director of Hopewell Holdings Limited said. "Hopewell has been organising the FUNtastic QRE Festival since 2010 to attract more people to visit Wan Chai and discover its enchanting characteristics. The FUNtastic QRE Festival has brought amazing experience to participants who will treasure the unique local characters of Wan Chai. Hopewell Holdings will definitely continue to organise this joyful and meaningful event."

The QRE Wine and Whisky Walk held from 2 to 6 pm today. Ticket holders could taste 60 rare and award-winning whiskies from over 14 countries, special alcoholic beverages and cocktails and mocktails in 20 specialty shops and restaurants at The East and Lee Tung Avenue. General public could savour French canapés prepared by Canapés Room and enjoy a wide variety of entertainments, including Flair Bartending, fancy yo-yo performances and different types of dance performances.

The QRE Carnival offers a wide range of programmes, which includes two sessions of music performances each day at Open Piazza of Hopewell Centre, a series of dance performances and other events such as Hong Kong Funky Dance, Flamenco Dance, Piano Dance, Rope Skipping and Enchanting Bubble Dance performance. Participants could also savour various free snacks and drinks such as Modos HK's egg puff, Yummy Mummy Ice-creamy's cartoon-shaped marshmallow, 1830s Macaron's fancy ice-cream macaron, and the popular rainbow drinks offered by Drinks Resort.

"The Wan Chai District Council aims to promote the unique culture of Wan Chai and drive the leisure development in Wan Chai. The FUNtastic QRE Festival not only shows the vivid and energetic characteristics of Wan Chai but also reinforces that Wan Chai is a community with diversity. This shares the same values of the Wan Chai District Council, and we hope that FUNtastic QRE Festival will continue to bring joy to the community and strengthen the sense of belonging of the residents in the district." said Mr Stephen Ng, BBS, MH, JP, Chairman of Wan Chai District Council.

The 7th FUNtastic QRE Festival programme is attached below, and can be downloaded at qre.com.hk.

Appendix 1:

The 7th FUNtastic QRE Festival Programmes