To become a mega-events city, Hong Kong needs more than just the venues to host these events. We need people who know how to operate them and a government that facilitates these events. Officials seem to think that we are all set after the completion of Kai Tak Sports Park and the 50,000-seat stadium. Well, we’re not quite there yet. The opening ceremony for the stadium went well enough, except for touts who got people into the venue through the back door without a valid ticket. These people didn’t go through security checks, either. This serious breach prompted an investigation and raised questions over whether the management is up to running a venue of this scale. Then came the World Grand Prix, where Hong Kong snooker fans were kicked out while a match was in progress because of a curfew imposed by the venue. The Kai Tak Arena made an announcement citing “local curfew rules in place for the venue”. The incident, which made headlines around the world, could have been avoided. Basically, it came down to a communications breakdown as messages were not passed to the right people. That means it was a low-level error for which the city paid a high price. The incident was not only embarrassing, it also called into question the competence of the government and the venue management – with the doubts broadcast to the rest of the world. The issue of an 11pm closing time for some public spaces came up in January. Lawmaker Yim Kwong raised the question, noting its potential to deter mega-events and asking whether authorities had reviewed the restrictions on opening hours for sports and performing arts or made flexible arrangements at the request of event organisers. Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui’s answer emphasised government bureaus and departments maintaining “close communication on the arrangements of events” to “allow more events that are well-received by the public and tourists to be smoothly organised”. In response to questions about the curfew, she said the Kai Tak venues’ hours “will also be flexibly adjusted for accommodating the actual situation and needs of individual events”. Judging by what we saw at the World Grand Prix, the “close communication” and facilitation by the government Law touted exist only in theory. When it comes to the real world, we are still miles away. It is no wonder, then, that Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu made demands last week for improvement in crisis management and spreading information. He also called on the management of the park to hold regular briefings and work meetings with the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau. Amid all this, we are only a few days away from the Hong Kong Sevens – an event that has attracted fans and visitors from around the world for decades. James Farndon, CEO of the city’s rugby federation, said in September that moving the event to Kai Tak would be “a game changer”. Having state-of-the-art facilities and a new, larger venue should indeed be a game changer, but are the people running things up to the task? Chris Brooke, the federation’s chairman, said he was “comfortable that the government is very focused on those test events and [they will be of] sufficient scale and regular frequency to make sure anything that might come up during that period is ironed out pre-March”. I am not so sure the issues are being sufficiently ironed out, given the serious flaws we have seen in the management of these world-class venues. Will Hong Kong be ready for the Sevens? Given the hard lessons already learned, there is a chance. If the issues are fundamental concerns such as communication failures, it means the government needs to be hands-on and get involved in the details and execution. We already know there is not enough shopping or dining available near the new stadium compared to Hong Kong Stadium’s proximity to Causeway Bay and Central. With 80 per cent of Sevens tickets already sold and most hotel bookings for the event made on Hong Kong Island, visitors appear to be well aware. It will take time for entertainment, restaurants and bars to pop up in the area and for visitors to get acquainted with Kai Tak. Now that we have hopefully figured out how to get people in and out of the area, the rest – particularly the economic ecosystem around Kai Tak Sports Park – will need time to take off. For now, we must focus on making the Hong Kong Sevens a smashing success. This is a task where we simply cannot afford to drop the ball.