The Home Affairs Bureau and the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong jointly held the "300-day Countdown to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Ceremony" at the Hong Kong Cultural Center Piazza yesterday.

Secretary for Home Affairs Bureau Tsang Tak-sing said at the ceremony that not only did it mark the 300 more days to the opening of the Olympic Games but it also launched the Olympic city dress-up program.

Tsang said that over the past year Hong Kong had been putting a lot of effort into preparation for the launch of the Olympic Games.

"Today's ceremony marks the launching of our Olympic city dress-up exercise. The Government and all relevant parties are now planning a series of community engagement activities and publicity campaigns, to encourage community participation in full," said Tsang.

Athletes and representatives of Hong Kong's sports sector participated in the countdown ceremony with singers and artists performing during the event.