The government announced on Thursday that 8,500 tickets would be up for grabs for the opening ceremony of the Kai Tak Sports Park on March 1.

Tickets will be available starting at 10am on Friday through Urbtix on a first-come, first-served basis, and they will cost HK$10 each.

The figure is among the total number of 33,600 seats available for the event, with the government and park operator each responsible for the distribution of 16,800 tickets.

More than 8,000 tickets will be distributed for free to underprivileged families, charities and other district organisations.

Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law said while the show that starts at 6.30pm would not be broadcast live, the ceremony would be aired later in the evening by four TV channels at 9.30pm.

She pointed out that overseas viewers could also enjoy the broadcast.

"For overseas viewers, I think they also can [watch] through the apps or through the channels of our different free TV channels... watch it together with the Hong Kong audience at 9.30pm at home in their countries or in their areas," Law said.

She said although the park is able to live stream the event, the government decided not to do that because the broadcast version would be able to showcase the park’s facilities better.

Singers, celebrities and athletes from Hong Kong and the mainland were among those slated to perform at the ceremony.

Law did not reveal how much the ceremony cost, but she said the government would spend its budget wisely.

“I have to give special thanks to all the participating artists and also athletes and performers, most of them actually do not require us to provide a special remuneration, aside from the minimum, for example the makeup or hair-do.”