The grand opening ceremony of the Swire Coca-Cola HK 60th Anniversary Finale: "The Bottling Hunt" Celebration was held on February 9th. The newly upgraded Coca-Cola Museum in Hong Kong will open to the public for the first time, with three guided tours scheduled for March 7th (Saturday). Registration for the public can be applied online from 2 pm on February 12th (Thursday).
The Coca-Cola Museum in Hong Kong, Photo by Bastille Post
Photo by Bastille Post
The guided tours will combine a novel time-travel experience with innovative interactive elements, focusing on the theme "Made in Hong Kong," reviewing the growth of Swire Coca-Cola Hong Kong alongside Hong Kong, and looking towards a sustainable future for the brand.
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The Coca-Cola Museum in Hong Kong, Photo by Bastille Post
The opening ceremony was officiated by Mr. Gam Jik, the CEO of Swire Coca-Cola Hong Kong for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan (third from the left); Mr.Richard Gould, the Director and General Manager of Swire Coca-Cola Hong Kong (second from the left); and Ms. Wai Gaa-lam, the Vice President of Marketing for Coca-Cola in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, and Mongolia (third from the right), etc. Photo by Bastille Post
Mr. Gam Jik, Photo by Bastille Post
Mr. Richard Gould, Photo by Bastille Post
The Coca-Cola Museum in Hong Kong, Photo by Bastille Post
The Coca-Cola Museum in Hong Kong, Photo by Bastille Post
Photo by Bastille Post
The opening ceremony was officiated by Mr. Gam Jik, the CEO of Swire Coca-Cola Hong Kong for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan (third from the left); Mr.Richard Gould, the Director and General Manager of Swire Coca-Cola Hong Kong (second from the left); and Ms. Wai Gaa-lam, the Vice President of Marketing for Coca-Cola in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, and Mongolia (third from the right), etc. Photo by Bastille Post
Swire Coca-Cola Hong Kong, in conjunction with Coca-Cola's brand membership program COKE+®️, will launch a redemption program, offering more residents the opportunity to participate in the guided tours and receive exclusive souvenirs, which can allow them to learn firsthand about the local beverage production process and how the brand has developed alongside the city. The brand hopes that the Coca-Cola Museum will transform the previous childhood memories into a platform for community, education, and business exchange, further deepening its close ties with Hong Kong.
Mr. Gam Jik, Photo by Bastille Post
Mr. Gam Jik, the CEO of Swire Coca-Cola Hong Kong for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, said, "Since commencing bottling operations in Hong Kong in 1965, Swire Coca-Cola has grown from a local company to Coca-Cola's fifth largest bottling partner globally, serving more than one-tenth of the world's population. Hong Kong is not only a starting point for our brand's development, but also the core of our innovation and heritage." Looking ahead, Mr. Gam indicated that Swire Coca-Cola Hong Kong will continue to optimize its facilities to produce high-quality beverages, reaching into communities and building a world-class bottling business by 2026.
Mr. Richard Gould, Photo by Bastille Post
Mr. Richard Gould, the Director and General Manager of Swire Coca-Cola Hong Kong, stated that the brand will continue to grow alongside Hong Kong residents towards a more sustainable future: "From October 2025, the plastic bottles used for Swire Coca-Cola's locally produced 500ml Coca-Cola beverages and Bonaqua mineral water (1.5 liters or less) have primarily been made from locally recycled plastic, achieving a 'recycled locally, remanufactured locally' circular model. We also plan to continue leading Hong Kong by 2026, ensuring that over 50% of the packaging in the market uses recycled plastic (rPET), further consolidating our leadership in environmental protection and the circular economy." He added that education is also key to promoting sustainable development. In addition to promoting related concepts through museums, the brand will also collaborate with Coca-Cola to launch the learning resources of "Coca-Cola Recycling Academy", bringing recycling and sustainable development concepts into classrooms and communities to encourage environmental practices.
The Coca-Cola Museum in Hong Kong, Photo by Bastille Post
Photo by Bastille Post
Photo by Bastille Post
The opening ceremony was officiated by Mr. Gam Jik, the CEO of Swire Coca-Cola Hong Kong for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan; Mr.Richard Gould, the Director and General Manager of Swire Coca-Cola Hong Kong; and Ms. Wai Gaa-lam, the Vice President of Marketing for Coca-Cola in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, and Mongolia. They invited residents to step into the "Made in Hong Kong" factory and experience the refreshing taste firsthand.
The Coca-Cola Museum in Hong Kong, Photo by Bastille Post
Photo by Bastille Post
Photo by Bastille Post
Details of the Guided Tour of the Swire Coca-Cola HK 60th Anniversary Finale: "The Bottling Hunt" Celebration
Date: March 7, 2026 (Saturday)
Location: Swire Coca-Cola HK (Ltd.), 17-19 Yuen Shun Circuit, Sha Tin, New Territories
Time:
Session 1: 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM
Session 2: 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Session 3: 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM
How to Participate: Online registration opens at 2:00 PM on February 12, 2026 （https://thebottlinghuntbyswirecocacola.ievent.hk）
*Limited to 30 people per session, first-come, first-served.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Smithsonian museum exhibit about the maritime journey that millions of Africans were forced to take across the Atlantic to slavery in the Americas will change later this month, when a remnant from one of the first sunken slave ships ever recovered is taken off display in Washington.
The National Museum of African American History and Culture says a timber piece of the slave ship, the São José-Paquete de Africa, on display in its “Slavery and Freedom” exhibit, will soon be prepared for a trip back to its home museum in South Africa.
The 33-pound (15-kilogram) timber piece has been prominently displayed — seemingly suspended over a dark void, a ballast at its side — as part of a loan agreement to the museum since it opened in 2016. The agreement, examined by The Associated Press, was initially five years and then was extended another five in 2021, ending July 1.
The ship remnant will be among several items sent back to the Iziko Museums of South Africa later this year. Because of its delicate nature, a special crate has to be built for its transport.
Other items from the ship, including the ballasts that served as counterweights for the human cargo, are remaining on display and will be returned to South Africa in two years. A manifest of the cargo on the ship will replace the timber piece.
The last day for museum visitors to see the timber piece on display is March 22.
The São José, a Portuguese vessel bound for Brazil with more than 400 captives from Mozambique, struck a rock and sank in December 1794 off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa. Half of the people aboard perished. Survivors were resold into slavery in the Western Cape, according to the Smithsonian.
Recovered in 2015, the ship was identified and studied through the Slave Wrecks Project, an international network of institutions that confirmed it was associated with the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The ship is among the first known wreckage of such a ship that was recovered, in which enslaved Africans died.
The São José piece is in the lowest public level of the museum and is part of the larger “Slavery and Freedom” exhibit, which focuses on the slave trade, including the ships and conditions of transport, as well as artifacts, such as shackles.
The exhibit addresses the Middle Passage, an especially fraught part of the Atlantic Ocean crossing where many of the captives died. While there is no exact count, the number of people who perished during the journey is in the millions, according to Paul Gardullo, the assistant director of history at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
The alteration of the slavery exhibit comes at a time when any changes related to history and the American story at federal parks, museums or other public spaces are being scrutinized. President Donald Trump's administration has focused on putting the U.S. in a good light as the country prepares to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The displays, exhibits and programming of several Smithsonian museums are under review as part of an executive order signed in March 2025 by the Republican president, titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” The National Museum of African American History and Culture is one of the institutions named in the order.
Michelle Commander, the museum's deputy director, told the AP the exhibit change is entirely related to the loan agreement but understood the timing might raise questions.
“That’s why we’re being transparent in this moment, because we are aware that there are those kinds of questions,” Commander said. “But, as we’ve said, this is really about the conservation needs of that item.”
As part of the loan, Gardullo said, the South African government has a robust cultural patrimony law that dictates how its artifacts and historical materials are treated and how long they can be loaned out.
“The wooden materials are more fragile, and they need a little more close care,” he said.
Recent visitors to the National Museum of African American History and Culture spoke of the power of the display with the slave ship timber, unaware that it would be altered shortly.
Lines wait to enter the darkened gallery, entitled the Middle Passage, where there is a solemnity as people study the dark space where the timber sits next to a ship's ballast. The tangible nature of the exhibit takes it out of textbooks and into reality, said Krystina Hernandez, who was there chaperoning her 7-year-old son’s schoolmates.
Anehtra Reynolds, from northern Virginia, was emotional as she exited the area. She said the presentation, including the artifacts and the darkness of the gallery, gave her a “piece of what they felt in terms of their misery.”
“I think there was a sign in there that mentioned there were some slaves who starved themselves to death in hopes that they would, when they died, they would be returned to their land,” Reynolds said.
Jim Carnes, who was in Washington visiting family from Birmingham, Alabama, said he was familiar with much of the information because he has worked in civil rights education in Birmingham and Montgomery, two places central to the nation's civil rights history.
“The artifacts are extraordinarily powerful,” he said, adding that he's left feeling sadness and anger, not just at the conditions of the enslaved people but at the current push by the federal government to “deny this ever happened.”
Jorge Carvajal, who is originally from Colombia but lives with his wife in south Florida, said seeing the exhibit silenced the stereotypes, especially that Black people are unreasonably angry.
“Empathy is what I’m trying to say. This will help people empathize a lot more. I mean, at least you would hope,” he said.
Commander said the staff at the museum will work to make sure that the exhibit continues to have the same impact with the remaining artifacts and displays.
“The story does not leave the museum because this timber is going to be returned to its owners,” she said.
School children visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture's Middle Passage exhibit, including a wooden timber, the artifact at back left, from the slave ship, the São José-Paquete de Africa, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Jim Cairnes of Birmingham, Ala., speaks to a reporter while visiting the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Anehtra Richmond of Woodbridge, Va., speaks to a reporter while visiting the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
People visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture's Middle Passage exhibit, including a wooden timber, the artifact at left, from the slave ship, the São José-Paquete de Africa, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
School children visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture's Middle Passage exhibit, behind a wooden timber, the artifact at right, from the slave ship, the São José-Paquete de Africa, Friday, March 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
