Hong Kong Sevens is the pinnacle event in global sports, says rugby boss

The Chairman of World Rugby, Brett Robinson, has branded the Hong Kong Sevens as “the crown jewel of our Sevens series” as tens of thousands of spectators celebrated the sport at Hong Kong’s biggest party of the year at Kai Tak Stadium.

The 50,000-seat arena was packed to capacity during the three-day event which drew in visitors from all points of the globe. An estimated 10,000 foreign visitors joined the Hong Kong throng despite rising airline costs due to the Middle East crisis. Most had purchased their tickets well before the crisis had begun.

The economic benefits of the event are enormous. Although figures for this year have not yet been analysed, in 2025 it was estimated the Rugby Sevens generated some HK$780 million to the city’s economy, according to global analytics firm Nielson.

“There is nothing quite like it,” said Robinson in an AFP interview, adding that it was one of the pinnacle events on global sports, not just rugby. “It’s the jewel in the crown of our Sevens series.”
The runaway success of the Hong Kong Sevens played a key part in rugby returning to the Olympics at Rio 2016 after a 92-year absence. Robinson said that when rugby was applying to become an Olympic sport again, delegations were shown Hong Kong to help stake its case for inclusion.

The weekend celebrated the 50th year for the Hong Kong Sevens and has grown from a mere 3,000 local spectators in 1976 to 50,000 fans today.

And party the fans do, which is one of the attributes to the weekend’s activities. At the South Stand 0.2 young and old alike enthusiasts don colourful costumes and consume gallons of beer as the games progress. It is the colour of the attendees which make it an international attraction to the event.

Of course, to host such a major event, there must be the facilities to match the task. The $30 billion stadium opened last year with major events being a series of concerts and the Rugby Sevens, sponsored by Cathay Pacific Airways and HSBC bank. In fact, the futuristic purplish façade of the stadium with its retractable roof was purposely built for the Sevens with its 24 separate changing rooms.

The rugby opening ceremony on Friday could rival that of the Olympics. It featured dancing robots, cheer leaders, K-Pop stars, light shows and fireworks. The Hong Kong Tourism Board brought in the dancing robots that had previously featured on CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala as part of its mission to showcase the city’s appeal as the events capital of Asia.

The 28 hectare Kai Tak Sports Park where the stadium is located is designed around a covered Kai Tak Sports Avenue, an indoor and outdoor pedestrian walkway starting at the Station Square and takes people all the way to the Dining Cove overlooking the Victoria Harbourfront.

The main stadium has a flexible pitch system which can be switched between natural turf for premier football or rugby events, to other surfaces for a variety of sports, entertainment, and community events. The facility has been designed to meet the standards of major international events with customisable staging and seating configurations that cater to various events and crowd sizes.

The sports park's Indoor Sports Center provides a large multi-purpose space with retractable seating to host major competitions or events of up to 10,000 seats and to accommodate sports courts for community use. A 5,000 seat Public Sports Ground is also provided for hosting school athletic events, athletic training and local league games.

Other facilities include more than 8 hectares of open spaces, outdoor ball courts, a children's playground, a health and wellness center, a bowling center and 200 retail and dining outlets. An event village will also be built to house international athletes visiting from other regions and countries.

The weekend was wall-to-wall sporting activities kicked-off by Hong Kong China Rugby which showcased international wheelchair rugby at the Kai Tak Sports Park Sports Hall with the inaugural Hong Kong 5s competition. Fast, fierce and full contact, the wheelchair rugby 5s brought high-intensity action to the Sevens week.

Earlier the premier U18 boys and girls players from the best local schools and clubs and school teams from all over the world competed in the Cathay Youth Invitational Sevens 2026 at the Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground.

The inaugural Fast 4s Netball tournament took place at the Sevens Fan Village situated at the Kai Tak Sports Park’s East Village. With local and overseas teams competing in a 4x4 mixed format in seven-minute halves, visitors experienced the high-speed action and razor-sharp moves associated with Fast 4s Netball.

Also in the Fan Village, Hong Kong China Rugby partnered with the Asia Pacific Padel Tour (APPT) to host the APPT Grand Slam Platinum Hong Kong 2026 event.

Cathay/HSBC ticket holders can also experience the first ever Primal Race in Hong Kong, also running across the tournament. Combining running, strength, mental grit, machines, and functional endurance, the exciting hybrid fitness event was of interest to fitness gurus and those who were curious about reaching their full physical fitness potential.

The Hong Kong Sevens is more than a sporting spectacle—it is a living symbol of the city’s global connectivity, and ability to bring people together in celebration. From its humble beginnings to its golden jubilee at Kai Tak, it reflects how Hong Kong continues to evolve while staying true to its vibrant, international character. As the city looks ahead, the Sevens will remain an event capital, not just a crown jewel of world rugby, but a beacon of Hong Kong’s ambition to be Asia’s events capital—open, dynamic, and ready to welcome the world.

Mark Pinkstone

** 博客文章文責自負,不代表本公司立場 **

When China’s Paramount Leader Deng Xiao Ping floated the idea of one country two systems for the future of Hong Kong, the west scoffed at the possibility of a communist regime and a capitalist bastion living hand in hand. Some 29 years later the prophets of doom were proven wrong as Hong Kong is now more prosperous than ever and it’s future will be more so.

For more than 150 years Hong Kong lived under a British colonial rule. There was no democracy, only authoritarian management. The succession of ruling governors were hand-picked by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and appointed by the Prime Minister, without any consultation with the people of Hong Kong.

But the people of Hong Kong didn’t mind. If they had never seen democracy, how could they miss it. The governors were diplomats and their upper-crust training ensured that the natives were happy and that their rice bowls were filled. The diplomats got on well with the Chinese government as they knew that harmony was the key component to a successful relationship.

Then came along a politician for the first time to run Hong Kong in the name of Chris Patten, who had lost his seat in the Bath electorate, about 156 km west of London. John Major was Prime Minister at the time and a good friend of Patten. So, to make up for the political loss in Bath, Major offered Patten the cushy job of being governor of Hong Kong.

In 1992 Patten and his family arrived in Hong Kong and as a typical politician, he arrived like a bull in a china shop (pun intended). There was no diplomacy involved. Patten and Major had decided that the foreign office diplomats were pussy-footing with the Chinese during the previous decade negotiating Hong Kong’s future and a firmer stand was necessary.

Unlike his predecessors, Patten knew nothing of Chinese traditions and customs. He just could not understand Chinese mentality and that applied not only to the mainlanders but also the local Chinese. The East is East and the West is West and never the twain shall meet wrote poet Rudyard Kipling in 1889. But, in Hong Kong they did.

The Joint Declaration between Great Britain and China on the future of Hong Kong and the subsequent Basic Law (Hong Kong’s mini constitution) provided the pathway for Hong Kong’s future, including democratic elections for the city’s legislative council. But Patten was impatient and decided to introduce a fully elected legislature in 1995 immediately before the handover in 1997. This infuriated the Chinese-side, and they provided for a provisional legislature to replace Patten’s council as soon as Hong Kong was reverted to Beijing’s administration.

After 1997, Hong Kong formed its first directly elected Legislative Council in 1998, while the Chief Executive is elected by an Election Committee — a system similar to the U.S. presidential election. Hong Kong's Election Committee now has 1,500 members, whereas the U.S. Electoral College has only 538 members.

Since then, Hong Kong has flourished. The prophets of doom and Kipling were wrong. Despite many attempts by the west to dismantle the Deng formula Hong Kong is one of the most successful places on the planet. Year after year it is breaking records to the envy of many. Hong Kong has secured third place in the Global Financial Centres Index. In the latest World Competitiveness Ranking, Hong Kong's position has risen one spot further to rank second globally. And in the World Talent Ranking, Hong Kong has moved up 10 places to rank the fourth globally and the first in Asia. Hong Kong also continues to come first as the world's freest economy. And Hong Kong has what many want – stability.

The Hong Kong formula is unique and successful. Never tried before, it was seen as an experiment and the world was watching, waiting for it to fail. But the Hong Kong people are resourceful and will take any challenge head on. There is no failure.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), established under the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Constitution, has maintained the previous capitalist system and way of life. Its common law system continues to operate, and it enjoys the free flow of people, capital, data, goods and more. The vibrancy and prosperity of the central government has always been Hong Kong's strongest backing.

Hong Kong’s 29th birthday under the PRC guidance, coincides with the 105th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China. Naturally there have been celebrations all round, and justifiably so. Both Hong Kong and the central government are proud of what they have achieved. And both, particularly in the past year have taken top ranking as the preferred place in the world to trust and to do business.

Chief Executive John Lee, at a celebratory function on July 1 summed it up with: “Hong Kong, the Pearl of the Orient, will ride the wave of flourishing national development and sail with the wind, steering towards a brighter and more prosperous future!”

And the future is being mapped out in Hong Kong’s first five-year plan, currently under consultation with the public. The plan, a road map for future leaders to follow, will include a futuristic block of land, one third of Hong Kong’s total, to house high tech innovative research and development facilities with university, hospital and new town ancillary services. This Northern Metropolis straddles the river that acts as the boundary between Hong Kong and neighboring Shenzhen, with bridges linking the two; further proof that Hong Kong is an integral part of China.