BRING BACK HARBOUR FEST

Attila asked the question yesterday evening, "The 7's was fun. What's the next big event in Hong Kong?" - sadly the answer has to be - "The 7's"

Thanks to all the moaners and whingers last year who thought that the money used to get Harbour Fest up and running would be better spent on things like traffic lights, or the perennial favouite - baby incubators, and all the sniping directed at the American Chamber of Commerce it seems Harbour Fest is destined to be a one-off event.

Sure some of it was a fiasco (the queue for beer at the Stones concert was ridiculous), and maybe there was a little bit of pocket-lining going on, but at least we had a few bands come to Hong Kong and perform who otherwise wouldn't have come, and there was something to talk about and, for a few of us, enjoy. I'm sure if it was repeated, a lot of lessons would have been learnt and things would be done differently. There would be less for the whingers to gripe about.

Making it a regular event would also generate interest from visitors. It could have become another tourist attraction for Hong Kong, bringing tourists and their dollars to the place, generating income and jobs, and so tax revenues and ultimately all those baby incubators everyone worries about on a sustainable and repeatable basis instead of a one-off expenditure.

But no. Everyone had to take the short-term view and have a pot-shot at the government even though they were only trying to help. This small-minded attitude makes me long sometimes for a good Chinese crackdown to shut these gits up and let everyone else get on with whatever they're doing without every Tom, Dick and Harry sticking their nose in. As i said a few days ago - democracy is vastly overrated. What is needed is continuity, and a bit of long-term planning and strategic thinking without interfernce from people who have no idea what they're talking about goes a long way.

So to all the moaners out there - if you didn't want to go all you had to do was not buy a ticket. All the sniping has done is mean that the rest of us who actually thought it was a great idea, enjoyed a couple of good concerts and a few nights out, and would love to see it repeated are going to be disappointed.

Thanks arseholes.