Hong Kong to Celebrate National Day with Spectacular 31,888-Shell Fireworks Display Over Victoria Harbour

Victoria Harbour will go dark for a beat, then erupt for 23 minutes: on October 1, Hong Kong is staging a 31,888-shell fireworks display to mark the 77th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

The show, called "Eternal Radiance: Fireworks in Bloom, Illuminating our Country," starts at 8pm and fires from nine points spread across three barges and six floating pontoons. It costs roughly HK$18 million (US$2.3 million) and is sponsored this year, exclusively, by insurer Sun Life Hong Kong — a change from 2025, when the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce footed the bill.

Designer Wilson Mao Wai-shing, who heads Pyromagic Multi-Media Productions, has built the display around eight scenes, one of which bursts into sunflower shapes over the harbour. The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau is coordinating the event, as it has in past years.

Sun Life Hong Kong chief executive Clement Lam Ka-yin framed the sponsorship as a civic gesture rather than a marketing play. "The display not only celebrates our nation's achievements but also reflects our heartfelt wishes for Hong Kong's continued prosperity and success," Lam said, adding that the company hopes the event will "bring people together" and showcase the city's "vibrancy."

Crowds are expected to gather on both sides of the harbour, with Tsim Sha Tsui, Wan Chai, the Mid-Levels and Central offering the clearest sightlines. Last year's edition, held under a different sponsor and theme, drew several hundred thousand spectators to the waterfront.