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Hong Kong will bring together 20 popular characters, such as SpongeBob, Garfield and the M&M’s mascots, for Asia’s largest IP-themed carnival, with highlights including a balloon parade and a citywide e-stamp collection. The organiser of Merry Balloon Hong Kong, the first-ever cross-IP character winter celebration, announced on Wednesday that the month-long event would launch on November 24, aiming to attract at least 100,000 visitors and participants. “This is a brand new, large-scale event in Hong Kong showcasing multiple IPs, which will become Asia’s largest IP-themed carnival,” said Tse Yuk, CEO and founder of organiser Makeitloud. He added that Hong Kong was in “a leading position” in the IP business, as many companies in the field had chosen to establish their headquarters in the city. Such businesses had also continued promoting their products through collaboration, attracting talent such as illustrators and creators to the city, he said. Tse said the event would cost more than HK$10 million (US$1.28 million), adding it had taken his team over a year to prepare for it. IPs appearing at the carnival include Care Bears, Cocomelon, Garfield, Hong Kong Machines, LuLu the Piggy, Mr Men and Little Miss, M&M’s, Molly, Moomin, Ocean Park’s Panda Friends, Paw Patrol, Peppa Pig, Potato Head, Sho-Chan, SpongeBob SquarePants and the Little Prince. The first stage of the carnival, called “Merry-Go-Around Town”, will take place from November 24 to January 4 next year. Participants can visit nine designated checkpoints in person, including Airside, Central Market and Star Ferry Piers, and use augmented reality (AR) to capture photos of virtual giant IP character balloons while collecting e-stamps. Any who collects all AR photos and nine e-stamps has a chance to win a set of 15 character pins after submitting a questionnaire, according to the organiser. Participants can also purchase 16 themed postcards designed by local artists and visit designated hotspots to collect stamps. Every eight stamps collected can be exchanged for a pin tag set at a price of HK$68 at a pop-up store located in the Elements shopping centre. The second part, an inflatable park at the Great Lawn in the West Kowloon Cultural District, will welcome the ticket holders from December 6 to January 4, with highlights including a seven-metre-tall slide and a seven-metre-tall Christmas tree, as well as many photo spots. Organisers will then hold the city’s first giant floating balloon parade on December 28, showcasing nearly 20 giant balloons in the shape of popular characters and running from Hong Kong Palace Museum to M+. Makeitloud will also recruit 150 volunteers from the public to lead the giant balloons during the parade.
