TORONTO, Feb. 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Chinese New Year is traditionally Hong Kong’s grand festival, featuring a series of vibrant and diverse activities, including Chinese New Year flower markets, prayers at Wong Tai Sin Temple and Che Kung Temple, the night parade, Victoria Harbour fireworks and the Year of the Horse Raceday. This year, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has adopted “Everywhere A Wish” as the theme, inviting visitors from around the world to come to the city to experience the joy and start a blessed new year.

Leading the series of highlight festive programmes is the “Cathay International Chinese New Year Night Parade”, organized by HKTB, which will kick off the Year of the Horse celebrations. This year’s parade is themed “Best Fortune. World Party”. On the evening of the first day of the Chinese New Year (February 17), 60 floats and performing groups will present a spectacular global party in Tsim Sha Tsui, interacting with large crowds of locals and visitors along the route to spread lively blessings.

New Float Line-up with More Surprises

This year’s parade features 12 floats from 11 participating units. These include long-term partners such as Cathay, the title-sponsor for the 24^th consecutive year, which will celebrate its 80^th anniversary by showcasing a classic aircraft soaring through a time tunnel; having participated in the parade for 27 consecutive years, The Hong Kong Jockey Club takes on an especially meaningful role in the Year of the Horse as the Exclusive Parade Route Sponsor. The float will feature three magnificent horses, symbolising the vitality, prosperity and forward looking spirit traditionally associated with the Year of the Horse; Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, which is celebrating its 20^th anniversary with various Disney friends and dancers in a festive street party; and Ocean Park Hong Kong’s Panda Friends, which will don new festive attire to wish locals and visitors a Happy New Year alongside Whiskers & Friends.

Making their debut in the parade are McDonald’s Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Brand Toy Association and Lam Tsuen Wishing Square. To celebrate its 50^th anniversary, McDonald’s Hong Kong will showcase a classic train float inspired by the brand’s iconic 1980s restaurant design installation. The Hong Kong Brand Toy Association float will bring together local trendy IPs, such as popular characters LABUBU and Molly, presenting Hong Kong’s creative culture; and the Lam Tsuen Wishing Square float will transform into a mobile “Glowing Wishing Tree”, recreating Hong Kong’s unique village praying culture and festive customs.

In addition, The Asia Tourism Exchange Center and the Macao Government Tourism Office will respectively present a “Lucky Horse” to extend sincere wishes for national prosperity and a themed float “Experience Macao” to showcase the fellow SAR’s charm. And the Quality Tourism Services Association will feature various Quality Tourism Services accredited merchants, demonstrating the vibrant growth of Hong Kong’s retail and catering industries.

To mark the Year of the Horse, the HKTB float is themed “World City. World Party” and will surprise the crowd with a pair of matching floats. The main float will feature various pony mascots dressed in different thematic mega events outfits, while the matching float will bring a replica of the Main Stadium of Kai Tak Sports Park to Tsim Sha Tsui, showcasing Hong Kong’s edge as the “Mega Events Capital”.

East-meets-West Cultural Extravaganza: Local and International Performing Teams Converge in Hong Kong

This year, 16 performing teams from various countries and regions will participate in the parade, including the Chinese Mainland, Italy, France, Spain, the US, Canada, Australia, Turkey, the Philippines, India and Egypt. Among the teams, 13 will perform in Hong Kong for the first time, forming a stellar line-up.

Performance highlights include the following: The Fumei Youth Yingge Dance Troupe of Puning City, which appeared at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, performing together with 6-year-old Yingge girl prodigy Zhuang Enqi from the Chinese Mainland to showcase the national intangible cultural heritage “Chinese War Dance”; France’s FierS à Cheval, presenting a giant luminous horse performance in a crossover with the local Jean M. Wong School of Ballet; and Italy’s Cromosauro, featuring a giant dinosaur over 5 metres tall and 7 metres long, along with China’s luminous dragon in a collaboration with the local Hong Kong Chinese Martial Arts Dragon and Lion Dance Association of Hong Kong, China, to stage a “Double Dragon Dance”. The Bluecoats from the US will perform alongside the local marching band, The Pegasus Vanguard; the Egyptian Tannoura Dance Group will interpret traditional Sufi folk whirling skirts; and the Canadian comedic acrobatic duo Les Vitaminés will bring surprises to the audience with humour and highly difficult skills.

The 15 local performing teams are equally exciting, featuring multiple champion-quality groups. These include dance group Rookids, featuring an 11-year-old member who won the U18 World Street Dance 2025 Championship with his superb dance skills; the GnB Dance Group, champions of World of Dance Hong Kong 2025; and the China Hong Kong Para Dance Sport Association, who won three gold and three silver medals at the National Games for Persons with Disabilities, bringing a performance fusing martial arts with wheelchair dance elements to demonstrate diversity and inclusion.

HKTB has now launched a one-stop Chinese New Year webpage on its official website, with a city-wide collection of Chinese New Year activities, including information on attractions and transportation, to help visitors plan their itinerary in advance and to experience Hong Kong’s festive culture.

HKTB Chinese New Year Webpage: https://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/what-s-new/events/chinese-new-year.html

Media can download the related photos from the following link: https://assetlibrary.hktb.com/assetbank-hktb/action/browseItems?categoryId=2337&categoryTypeId=2

Post-event highlight video footage and images of Cathay International Chinese New Year Night Parade will be available for download from February 18, 18:00 EST) from the following link: https://assetlibrary.hktb.com/assetbank-hktb/action/browseItems?categoryId=2316&categoryTypeId=2

Information of Social Media Livestreaming and Satellite Live Feed of “Cathay International Chinese New Year Night Parade”

1. Details of Social Media Livestreaming (Full programme)

2. Details of Satellite Live Feed (Full programme)

Intelsat IS-34, 55.5 degrees West (covering the Americas, North America & South America) 

• Satellite path: IS34, 55.5 degrees West 
• Programme name: International Chinese New Year Parade 
• On-air date & time: 17/2/2026 (1200-1345 GMT) 
• Transponder: IS-34 (18C Slot C), C Band 
• Uplink Frequency: 6324.5 MHz (Horizontal) 
• Downlink Frequency: 4099.5 MHz (Vertical) 
• Symbol Rate: 7.2 MSps 
• FEC: 3/4 
• Video Format: HD 1080i 59.94
• Aspect Radio: 16:9 
• Audio Assignment: A1 : A2 Stereo 
• Modulation: DVB-S2/8PSK 
• Pilot: ON 
• Roll Off: 0.2 
• Encoding Bit Rate: 14.0 Mbps (MPEG4 H.264) 
• Encryption: NIL – Free to Air

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A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on this link.