The parade, which is a major program of the City of Life: Hong Kong is it! tourism campaign, will be staged on the first day of Lunar New Year that falls Feb. 1, 2003.

There are five sub-themes under the main theme of the parade "Celebrate Life," namely Style, Vitality, Harmony, Tradition and Future, according to HKTB in announcing the details of the parade Monday.

To showcase Chinese and international elements, the parade willfeature 12 international and local floats and 13 international and25 local performing groups.

"As Chinese New Year is the festival that best represents Hong Kong's special appeal as the Events Capital of Asia, each year theHKTB proactively promotes related activities around this period, with the Chinese New Year Parade as the focus," said Clara Chong, executive director of HKTB.

"We know the response to our promotions has been very positive.Travel agents in a number of markets, such as the United States, Europe and Japan, have been packaging special tours that include Chinese New Year related celebrations and events," she said.

"In anticipation of this response we have reserved some 1,500 seats for visitors," she added.

For the fifth successive year, Cathay Pacific Airways is the parade's title sponsor. The Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Parade is not only an important event of Hong Kong, but has also become a major tourist attraction worldwide.

(Xinhua News Agency January 7, 2003)