More than 450 activities will be held to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), announced the SAR government Friday.

Announcing the official launch of the 10th Anniversary celebrations at a press conference Friday afternoon, the Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs of Hong Kong Carrie Lam said a wide range of celebration activities would take place from April to December.

The government has reserved 90 million HK dollars (US$11.6 million) for the activities which will be organized by the government and the community.

"We encourage every member of the community to take part in the activities to share the joy of this memorable occasion," Lam said.

Director of Celebrations Coordination Office Raymond Young gave a brief introduction of the events which cover a wide range of activities including ceremonial and celebratory events, commissioning of infrastructure projects, major exhibitions and conferences, as well as various cultural, sports, community and district events.

Of the 460 activities, more than half are community and district events. Highlighted events include Flag Raising Ceremony, Fireworks Display, Commissioning of Hong Kong Shenzhen Western Corridor, Forum on the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement.

Since the pair of giant pandas presented by the Central Government to Hong Kong as a 10th Anniversary gift will arrive soon, a "Name the Giant Pandas" organized by the city's government will be held between April 2 to 11. All members of the public are welcome to join.

Children born in 1997 will also receive special offers from theme parks in Hong Kong and gift vouchers sponsored by commercial enterprises and coordinated by the Home Affairs Department.

To ensure the celebration a joyous event for the whole of Hong Kong, and to ensure that under-privileged people would have the opportunities to take part in the celebrations and share the joy, a socially inclusive program the "Celebrations for All" project would be launched.

It aims to proactively and directly facilitate the under-privileged people to participate in various celebration events to share the joyous atmosphere, Lam said.

In addition, to commemorate the HKSAR 10th Anniversary, China Post and Hong Kong Post would jointly issue commemorative stamps, which would be the first Mainland-HKSAR joint issue of stamps.

A range of souvenirs, some of which are designed by renowned local designers, will also be produced for distribution to the public, including a set of "10th Anniversary Figurines".

There is also a theme song for the 10th Anniversary entitled "Just Because You Are Here" created by local composer Peter Kam and lyricist Chan Siu-kei and sung by local artists.

(Xinhua News Agency March 31, 2007)