2022 International evening: RCHK virtually diversified

By Oscar So

On the 3rd of November, guests trickled in, eagerly anticipating the start of another illustrious International Evening. The hardworking team behind the event could finally breathe a sigh of relief — after days of hard work, everyone could finally watch the excellent student performances that celebrated the multicultural melting pot of RCHK. 

Although the event was forced online for the third straight year due to COVID restrictions, this year’s International Evening was watched by some 1074 people — a truly astonishing amount considering the size of the community. Performances included various dance styles, full bands, drums, violin, guitar, erhu, and piano performances. Some were even from different schools in Hong Kong.

The idea behind International Evening stayed the same: to promote multiculturalism, globalism,  and diversity whilst raising money for Hong Kong Unison, which aims to “promote racial equality to eliminate … racial discrimination in Hong Kong” and ensure “equal opportunity and equal access to public services and information”. 

This event was only made possible by a group of student volunteers — Athan Wong, Andrea Chow, Aidan Lai, Sophia Leung, Elfrida Lam, Kyla Cheung, Marcus Cheung, Megan Leung, and Vicki Cheung — who were tasked with creating MC recordings for the two-hour event. They were immensely dedicated to pulling this off, even staying until seven o’clock after school just to finish the recordings.

As the date drew closer, the preparations reached a peak. “We had to come in after school and record the MC part until 7,” said Athan. “We had to get the emotions right, the tone right, for each and every clip. It took quite a while to get them right, mostly because we botched it up quite a lot. Ultimately though, we pulled it off — it was an amazing experience.”

“It was an eye-opening experience that allowed me to be fully aware of the different cultures in RCHK,” concurred Aidan Lai.

Finally, the date arrived. All their preparation culminated in this two-hour livestream that dazzled and amazed the audience. “Without the in-person aspect, I thought this would be underwhelming,” said Ryan Ng, a spectator. “But I was wrong. The MCs kept it smooth and natural. I especially loved the jokes that they made to keep it relaxing. I look forward to watching International Evening again next year — hopefully, it will be in person.”

“Their fundraising work was very respectable,” said another student. “As an RC student, I am especially proud of our community for coming together and helping those less fortunate in society.”

The immense effort put into this event paid off, with a fantastic spectacle of performances. RCHK can look forward to this event again next year!