Hong Kong (18th February, 2016) – The organisers of The AIA Great European Carnival are looking forward to celebrating the close of their 2015/16 Carnival season and are expecting their One Millionth visitor over the closing weekend. To date the 64 days Carnival has seen well over 900,000 visitors, despite January’s record breaking rainfall and an independent survey has acknowledged the Hong Kong public’s overwhelming support the event with 74% stating they would return for a second time and over 80% of people expressing their satisfaction.
“At the start of the Carnival we set out to achieve over a million visitors, and with the support of the public this weekend to celebrate our finale, we hope to able to achieve that. I am excited! We have lots of giveaways and many wonderful discounts for people to enjoy. Our job is really about ensuring everyone has fun!” said CEO, Michael Denmark.
Charitable and community activities have also been an important part of the Carnival with over HK$1,000,000 in cash and kind being contributed to various charities and over 20,000 guests of charity partners being treated to a day at the Carnival. The greatest benefactors were The Cancer Fund and Operation Santa Claus, who each received cash donations of HK$250,000 at the opening of the Carnival. Their opening preview saw over 16,000 people enjoying free rides throughout the day as a sample of the fun that was to come.
“We opened the carnival with generosity, and we will close the Carnival with generosity. Free entry, discounted rides and plenty of toys to give away!” added Denmark.
In addition, educational programs tailored for both local and international schools have witnessed the participation of over 2,000 students from 20 schools ranging from third-tier local schools to Private and International Schools.
“The AIA Great European Carnival is and will always be for all people in the Hong Kong Community. We aim to make it as accessible to everyone regardless if you are young, old, ageing, disadvantaged or poor. Through our charity programs we had a mentality of never saying ‘no’ and making sure everyone had their chance to visit,” added Denmark.
For schools and teachers looking to provide students with hands-on Physics and Math, Business Studies activities, the Educational Tours of the Carnival provided a wonderful insight into the functions and mechanisms from both a rides and business perspective. Each tour could be customized towards specific areas of studies with different worksheets tailored to suit the ages and abilities of the students involved. High school physics class could be given a tour of all the major rides by the Carnival’s Chief Engineer who could explain in-depth the mechanics and dynamics involved in both thrilling customers and keeping them safe.
“We are proud to have upped our game this year and the public has responded positively. We aim to be an event that is embraced by all people in Hong Kong and for visitors alike. We thank you for your support and we look forward to coming back next year with something better yet again.” said Mr Denmark.
The 1 millionth visitor is set for a huge surprised, with the organisers geared up to shower that lucky visitor with a celebration which will include unlimited free rides, $1,000 worth of tokens, a 60 inch Television from LETV and a pair of Seiko Watches.
Please visit www.tgec.asia for more information about The AIA Great European Carnival.
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ABOUT THE GREAT EUROPEAN CARNIVAL
The Great European Carnival Ltd is the producer of the annual Hong Kong event called The AIA Great European Carnival. The Great European Carnival takes place between December and February each year, on the Central Harbourfront Event Space. The event features amusement rides, carnival skill games, an outdoor ice rink, seasonal markets and performances on a community stage. This year the Carnival will run at the Central Harbourfront Event Space from 17th December to 21st February, 2016.
The Carnival welcomed more than 830,000 Hong Kong and international guests in its inaugural staging and has out-distanced internationally renowned brands to win Marketing Magazine’s Best Event Consumer, Best Sponsorship Activation, Gold in Excellence in Event Marketing and Gold in Excellence in Best Partnership Awards in 2015.
ABOUT AIA HONG KONG AND AIA MACAU
AIA Hong Kong and AIA Macau are subsidiaries of AIA Group Limited. AIA Group Limited established its operations in Hong Kong in 1931. We have the largest team of financial planners in Hong Kong and Macau*, now over 11,000, as well as an extensive network of brokerage and bancassurance partners who serve more than 1.8 million customers. Our products range from individual life, group life, accident, medical and health, personal lines insurance to investment- linked products with numerous investment options. We are also dedicated to providing superb product solutions to meet the financial needs of high net worth customers
ABOUT AIA
AIA Group Limited and its subsidiaries (collectively “AIA” or the “Group”) comprise the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group. It has a presence in 18 markets in Asia-Pacific - wholly-owned branches and subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Korea, the Philippines, Australia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, New Zealand, Macau, Brunei, a 97 per cent subsidiary in Sri Lanka, a 26 per cent joint venture in India and representative offices in Myanmar and Cambodia.
The business that is now AIA was first established in Shanghai over 90 years ago. It is a market leader in the Asia-Pacific region (ex-Japan) based on life insurance premiums and holds leading positions across the majority of its markets. It had total assets of US$172 billion as of 31 May 2015.
AIA meets the long-term savings and protection needs of individuals by offering a range of products and services including life insurance, accident and health insurance and savings plans. The Group also provides employee benefits, credit life and pension services to corporate clients. Through an extensive network of agents, partners and employees across Asia-Pacific, AIA serves the holders of more than 29 million individual policies and over 16 million participating members of group insurance schemes.
AIA Group Limited is listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited under the stock code “1299” with American Depositary Receipts (Level 1) traded on the over-the-counter market (ticker symbol: “AAGIY”).
FOR THE GREAT EUROPEAN CARNIVAL MEDIA RELATIONS ENQUIRIES：
Floria Wun Rebecca Chan
TGEC TGEC
+852 3706 8594 +852 3706 8593
floria@tgec.asia rebecca@tgec.asia
Community and education programmes at The AIA Great European Carnival
Community and education programmes at The AIA Great European Carnival
Community and education programmes at The AIA Great European Carnival