Everything you need to know about Clockenflap 2023

This year, festival-goers can rock out to their favourite artists at six stages scattered around Central Harbourfront Event Space. The Harbourflap stage will hold the music festival’s main acts including Yoasobi, Pulp, Idles, De La Soul, and more. The Orbit stage is a stone’s throw away, and will feature a wide spectrum of genres, from No Party For Cao Dong and Omnipotent Youth Society, to Atarashii Gakko!. Clockenflap’s newest stage which launched in March, Topper, will keep the vibes going between live sets on the other stages with edgy electronic music.

On the other side of the craft market lies the Electriq stage, which you’ll need to hit up for a major dose of dancefloor energy – Darren Emerson, Peking Duk, and Hong Kong DJs Gia and Xiaolin will be playing here. Robot Stage is situated next to the bouncy castle, showcasing kid-friendly content during the day and spotlighting DJs and party crews come sundown. Catch Korean producer 250, Triple Happiness Club, and Totti doing their thing at this location. Lastly, the Tommy Stage sits at the far eastern end of the festival grounds, and is where you can see emerging talents such as Otoboke Beaver, Yack Studio, and Idiotape perform.

In an unfortunate turn of events, Sunday headliner Joji will not be able to perform due to health reasons, also cancelling his Kuala Lumpur and Singapore shows. This news comes after American singer-songwriter D4vd and Canadian singer Andy Shauf also cancelled their performances. The organisers have now arranged for local indie band N.Y.P.D to take the 5.45pm set on Saturday, while American rapper Swae Lee will headline on Sunday in place of Joji.

Don’t worry, Clockenflap won’t let you go hungry! Apart from hoppy beverages at Kuuchi Café & Bar by Scottish craft beer brand Brewdog, you can gorge yourself on buns from Little Bao or the Fairfax Sandwich from Eggslut. Vegetarians are also well catered for with plant-based cuisine from vegan lifestyle concept and restaurant Years.

Of course, Clockenflap wouldn’t be complete without an array of arts programmes. Soak in immersive art works in Alchemy Décor’s flowing canopies; share your secrets anonymously at the Heart to Heart mobile confessional booth; or feast your eyes on a selection of abstract, psychedelic films at Relentless Melt No. 30. There will also be a two-day wellness schedule of meditation, gong baths, shamanic drumming, and silent disco – in case you need some calm after all the thumping beats.

If you feel like doing a spot of shopping, the Craft Market area in the middle of the festival will feature a range of 29 stalls. Don’t forget to also try on some American-inspired trucker jackets at the Levi’s area, and get temporary tattoos at the Kuuchi Café & Bar by Brewdog.

As for children and families, the Children’s Discovery Museum will be running arts and crafts workshops, and there’ll also be puppet performances, sonic soundscapes, and the super popular Drum Jam.

The main entrance and exit is right next to the AIA observation wheel at Central ferry pier 10. There are also two other exit points; at the craft market that leads out to Lung Wo Road, and at the far end of the festival area opposite the Tommy Stage. Here’s a handy map so you know where everything is.

Festival-goers must present their ID card together with their ticket in order to gain admission to Clockenflap. Those with student tickets must also present their student ID card, and weekend ticket holders must not remove their wristbands, as they are not replaceable. As a cashless event, Clockenflap will only accept digital payments with credit cards, mobile app payments, or Octopus cards, so be sure to top up your cards and phones before heading into the festival. Find the full schedules for all three days of the festival on Clockenflap’s website.

Since Clockenflap are ramping up their sustainability initiatives, festival goers are also encouraged to bring their own water containers – as long as they’re not made of glass. There’ll be water fountains in the festival grounds where you can fill up your bottle for free. Umbrellas are also not allowed, so if you’re worried about how the weather holds up, pack a poncho instead.

As expected of one of Hong Kong’s most popular music events, three-day weekend tickets as well as single-day tickets for Friday have already all sold out by now. According to Clockenflap, you can still get single-day tickets ($1,280) for Saturday and Sunday for now – but delay no more, since they’re likely to sell out too! Click here to purchase tickets.