Hundreds to mark anniversary of singer's death
Heavy-hearted fans of Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing are expected to arrive from around the world to commemorate the first anniversary of his death.
The 46-year-old singer jumped from the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on April 1 last year.
Teacher Julie Ng said she would start paying her tribute to Cheung on Tuesday by attending Mass at a church in Tsim Sha Tsui, where she has booked a service in Cheung's name on the first day of each month since June last year.
She will then go to the unveiling of Cheung's wax figure at Madame Tussaud's on the Peak at 3pm the next day, followed by an event at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on Thursday, April 1.
'I still can't believe such a perfect, kind and gifted artist has left us. I had never cried so much in my life before,' she said.
She said she could relate so well to Cheung because they were about the same age and were both from broken families.
About 800 tickets to the memorial function at the Mandarin, costing $180 each, have sold out.
Fans are flying in from the mainland, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and Canada, said a spokeswoman for Leslie Cheung Cyberworld, the organiser of the event.
'Leslie has no grave,' she said. 'We hope the hall of remembrance we'll be setting up will serve as a substitute for fans to pay their tributes.'
There will also be screenings of clippings from Cheung's films, as well as a 90-minute video of interviews with the singer's close friends.
At 6.41pm, the time at which Cheung's body was found on the ground, a candlelight memorial will start at a street corner beside the Mandarin - at the intersection of Ice House Street and Connaught Road.
'The time 6.41pm is the darkest moment of our lives, and each candle light would bring us together, heart to heart, coast to coast, to remember our dearest Leslie,' according to organiser Leslie Legacy Association.
Other events include film screenings across the city on Friday, including a private showing of four RTHK films to Japanese guests invited by the Tourism Board, at the Hong Kong Film Archive's cinema in Sai Wan Ho.
The Hong Kong International Trade and Exhibition Centre in Kowloon Bay is booked all day Saturday for a number of seminars and events, entitled 'Dazzling on the Stage - in Reminiscence of Leslie's Artistic Life'.
More of Cheung's works will be shown at the 28th Hong Kong International Film festival starting on April 7.
The festival has announced additional screenings of Cheung's films Days of Being Wild and Farewell My Concubine, due to popular demand.
