Hundreds flock to Hong Kong’s Water Parade featuring giant Labubu, Doraemon, Elmo
Inflatables make loop of Victoria Harbour from Admiralty to Fortress Hill, and then across to Tsim Sha Tsui
Hundreds of spectators gathered on both sides of Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour on Saturday to watch a “parade” involving giant inflatables of popular characters Labubu, Elmo, Grimace and Doraemon.
The event wrapped up a week-long Water Parade organised by Hong Kong design studio AllRightsReserved (ARR), with the inflatables setting sail from Admiralty at 2pm towards Fortress Hill, and then across the harbour to Tsim Sha Tsui, before returning to Admiralty.
Visitors eagerly snapped photos of the inflatables of Japanese manga character Doraemon, a version of Sesame Street’s Elmo by American artist Kaws, McDonald’s Grimace and Hong Kong designer Lung Ka-sing’s Labubu.
The event also featured a bazaar at Tamar Park showcasing other intellectual property goods such as Tolo Ducks, Snoopy, KPop Demon Hunters, Stranger Things and Squid Game, and concluded with a drone show at 6pm in Admiralty.
“We hope that through this event, people’s passion and imagination for the arts and the city will be ignited. Hong Kong has proven once again it can be a world’s stage for arts,” said ARR founder Lam Shu-kam.
“From what we know so far, the single day footfall in the area for the past Sunday and the Chung Yeung holiday has exceeded over 100,000.”