Hundreds of visitors queued overnight outside the Convention and Exhibition Centre for the opening of the Hong Kong Book Fair on Wednesday, July 15th, 2026. The main attraction for many was an autograph session with popular local Cantopop girl group Collar.

Among the early arrivals was 15-year-old student Lucas Wong, who arrived around 2 a.m. hoping to purchase the girl band’s photobook and secure an autograph slot. Despite waiting until the event’s official 10 a.m. opening, Wong was blocked by a long queue from reaching the sales booth. He suspected that other entrances to the venue had opened before the official start time.

Wong described the situation as “an absolute mess” and expressed disappointment, saying, “This was my first time at the book fair, and it has been deeply disappointing.” Due to crowd control measures, he was left waiting outside one of the centre’s halls for a remaining autograph slot and expected to miss out on a signed copy of the photobook.

Several attendees criticized the organisers for the chaotic crowd management during the event.

Sources

South China Morning Post World