Why are the French such a cultural force in Hong Kong? It’s to do with the ‘art of living’
A potent mix of diplomacy, luxury commerce and cross-cultural collaborations explains France’s outsized presence in Hong Kong’s arts scene
From the annual French May Arts Festival to public contemporary circus performances at Tai Kwun heritage arts centre and electronic music events by Victoria Harbour, the French have an outsized cultural footprint in Hong Kong.
French May and the Alliance Francaise de Hong Kong (AFHK) – a non-profit cultural centre that provides language classes and runs the city’s annual French Film Festival – each hosts between 100 and 120 programmes a year.
Combined with other organisations’ initiatives, ranging from concerts to gastronomy and fashion events, the total number of French-related happenings in Hong Kong runs into the hundreds.
According to the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, there are more than 10,000 registered French nationals living in Hong Kong, making the city home to around half of China’s total French population.
This means Hong Kong has a ready-made audience for French cultural events. However, the French community in Hong Kong has shrunk since 2019 – when it numbered around 14,000 – and remains smaller than Singapore’s, estimated to be about 20,000.
French May is more extensive than its Singapore counterpart, Voilah! France Singapore Festival, and, in Hong Kong, French cultural events outnumber those representing some of the city’s other sizeable communities – Filipinos, Indonesians, Americans, Britons, Indians, Pakistanis, Thais and Japanese.
So how do the French do it?