Galloping horses theme of Hong Kong’s Lunar New Year fireworks display

The coming Lunar New Year fireworks display in Hong Kong will feature the theme of galloping horses to welcome the Year of the Horse, with the Jockey Club sponsoring the event for the first time.Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges said on Friday that the fireworks show, titled “Prosperity gallops across Hong Kong”, would be a part of a year-long campaign by the betting giant to celebrate the equine zodiac with a series of events from races to museum exhibitions.“For the Hong Kong Jockey Club, this is an especially auspicious year, when we want to celebrate the special role of horses and horse racing over 140 years of history in Hong Kong, with deep roots in our community,” he said.The club will be the sole sponsor of the 23-minute, HK$19 million (US$2.4 million) show on February 18, as part of a year-long campaign the club said it would host to honour the bond between horses and humans, as well as the special role of the animal in Chinese culture and Hong Kong’s own history.Engelbrecht-Bresges said racing was “a symbol of the city’s stability under ‘one country, two systems’”, referring to the city’s governing principle.“It is more than a sport as its impact via the integrated business model of the club has made contributions to Hong Kong economically and socially; which fulfills the club’s purpose of acting for the betterment of society,” he said.