Westlife and Stones headline post-Sars festival
Westlife will line up alongside the Rolling Stones and Santana at a music festival aiming to restore some glitz to Sars-hit Hong Kong.
Jose Carreras, Craig David, Taiwanese pop star Jay Chou and boy band F4, will also take part in the concert series titled Hong Kong Harbour Fest.
James Thompson, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce, which is organising the event with the government, said: "We thought we could all help Hong Kong recover by bringing some exciting, world class entertainment here."
He hopes the event will attract tourists from North America, Europe and Japan and in turn create jobs.
An outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome between March and May dealt a heavy blow to the already struggling economy. The disease, which killed 299 people and left 1,755 ill, prompted travel warnings and devastated tourism, hotel and other businesses.
The festival will take place at the outdoor Tamar site along Hong Kong's waterfront between October 15 and November 9. It is estimated to be costing the equivalent of €15.3m.
The government has agreed to contribute €9.4m if half the tickets are sold, said Mike Rowse, one of the organisers. The Stones will perform on November 7 and 9, with top tickets priced at about €230 each.
More than 200,000 tickets for 18 shows will be available for the entire festival and ticket sales will begin on September 12.
