From chubby hearts to luminous eggs, two of Hong Kong’s government-funded recent “mega events” have drawn selfie-seekers as well as criticism from residents. Announced in 2022, the Mega Arts and Cultural Events (ACE) fund is an initiative to support 200 crowd-drawing concerts, exhibitions, and public installations from 2023 to 2025 to reinvigorate the tourism industry following Hong Kong’s post-Covid economic recession.

In February, the Hong Kong Design Centre organized the “Chubby Hearts Hong Kong” campaign, consisting of giant red heart-shaped balloons created by British fashion designer Anya Hindmarch and installed across the city on Valentine’s Day. In her opening speech, Hindmarch stated that she hoped the hearts would “bring smiles to the public.” But despite attracting over 65,000 visitors, netizens were quick to ridicule the display, demanding to know how much the balloons had cost taxpayers. The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (CSTB) later revealed the figure to be HKD 7.8 million (USD 996,000).