During those early days when Sassy Wednesday was renamed Happy Wednesday, we created interactive content like Finding Happy Wednesday hosted by Sarika Choy, Justin Lim and a down to earth Nicole Purton with Scottie Hui and his production team capturing all the fun of the night.
Of course, this was a very very different and far more international Hong Kong- younger, cooler, creative, aspirational and with themed nights, original music at Adrenaline and short form programming like Fashionistas hosted by the very popular Hannah Schofield.
Then came the different itsy bitsy spiders like the political unrest of 2018 which suddenly morphed into the Covid-19 pandemic and which led to four years of lockdown, mind shifts and the HKJC’s very own suffocating racing bubble of paranoia.
Where the HKJC has gone walkies is making important changes in personnel last year, but with the handpicked replacements by CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges continuing with a “business as usual” strategy by copying everything that’s come before instead of creating anything new.
Alas, the copying has only succeeded in the lowering of standards and, say some within the club, nepotism.
Surely not, mes amis?
What’s been seen since the middle of last year have been awkward rehashes of fashionistas, the usual old songs performed ‘live’ at the Beer Garden with musicianship being lowered to a new level of mediocrity, and a crowd that’s a cross between those one might have expected to see some years ago at a pickup joint like Joe Bananas or on the MTR.
What about the horse racing?
Other than the Hong Kong racing uncles, does anyone really care who wins what- and does this include the HK$24 million per annum CEO who just might finally realise that he’s outstayed his Use By date and could be looking for new and greener pastures?
If he is, who could blame him?
