Hong Kong’s luck with large-scale events and high-demand openings seemed to have taken another turn for the worse this past weekend. Remember the major debacle surrounding the hotly anticipated AIA International Hot Air Balloon Festival in September that ignited a social media storm? And who could forget the Messi controversy of 2024?
It was Hong Kong Palace Museum’s turn this time. On Saturday, November 22, the long-awaited ‘Ancient Egypt Unveiled: Treasures from Egyptian Museums’ exhibition at HKPM ran into major human congestion issues halfway through the day following a relatively smooth morning. Excruciatingly long queues, unclear instructions on-site, and massive crowds caused unhappiness among visitors, with many demanding refunds. As a result, HKPM offered Saturday’s ticket holders the chance to revisit the exhibition on another day within the next three months free of charge, and extended its opening hours to 9pm that day to provide some crowd relief – but the same problem was to repeat itself less than 24 hours later.
Yesterday, on Sunday, November 23, HKPM had to suspend on-site ticket sales for ‘Ancient Egypt Unveiled’ for almost five hours to manage crowds, granting admission only to those who had purchased their tickets in advance. For those who stuck around, on-site ticket sales were resumed from 3.30pm onward. Additionally, the museum remained open for another two hours until 8pm to give visitors more time to view the ancient Egyptian artefacts.
HKPM shared on Monday, November 24, that it had welcomed more than 16,000 visitors to ‘Ancient Egypt Unveiled’ in just four days since the exhibition’s opening – now that’s as good an endorsement as you’re likely to get for the show. A series of themed plush toys in the shape of cats dressed as pharaohs – souvenirs for the exhibition fashioned after the Egyptian goddess Bastet – have also already sold out. HKPM indicated there will be more on the way, but for now, visitors must submit an online reservation form at the gift shop to be informed of new stock.
HKPM is mulling over the possibility of temporarily extending its opening hours to cope with the exhibition’s high demand, as demonstrated by the substantial number of visitors over the weekend. Perhaps ‘Night at the Museum’ could become a thing after all…
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