Beyond the Exhibition Hall: AWE’s Waterfront Debut Offers a Glimpse of What’s Next

Behind the visitor experience was approximately a year of festival preparation. The result was a “sea-and-land dual-stage” format that gave visitors different ways to explore the festival. Along the waterfront, they could board yachts, examine their design and craftsmanship, and meet brand representatives. Luxury cars and dining experiences added to the outdoor offering.

AWE Waterfront was jointly coordinated by the engineering team of the AAHK and AWE. The teams conducted site visits to renowned international yachting events in Australia, Monaco, USA and Singapore, while advancing planning and design, procurement and component prefabrication in parallel. Once the components arrived on site, the entire construction process and safety testing were completed in just three weeks.

The airport location presented its own set of engineering and operational challenges. The team had to account for wave conditions, airport height restrictions and seabed characteristics, developing a temporary wave attenuation system comprising six large flat-top pontoons working alongside floating wave barriers. Berthing positions, anchoring arrangements and floating access walkways were also carefully planned to ensure the safe operation of the exhibition.

Given the site’s proximity to major high-speed ferry routes serving the fire and rescue pier and SkyPier, early coordination with relevant government departments was essential to secure approvals and establish maritime access arrangements. Emergency response protocols and tugboat standby arrangements were also put in place, enabling the airport’s waterfront to accommodate an international yacht exhibition.

AWE Waterfront offers a glimpse of SKYTOPIA, AAHK’s vision for a world-class airport-city destination integrating commercial activity, culture, tourism, entertainment and leisure. It offered visitors an early glimpse of this vision, including an early look at the future Airport Bay Marina, an essential component in the blueprint.

Curating Connections Across Nine Worlds

Inside, nine themed “worlds” brought together yachts, automobiles, jewellery, watches, art and other lifestyle interests. More than 60 expert presentations, masterclasses and performances unfolded across five stages, complemented by whisky tastings, food pairings, watchmaking workshops and private jewellery viewings.

The appeal lay as much in the connections between these experiences as in the individual displays. Visitors could move from an intimate workshop or viewing inside the halls to a yacht visit outdoors, exploring different aspects of the festival without leaving the venue.

That flexibility is central to AWE’s ambitions: an exhibition need not stop at the hall doors, and waterfront activities need not stand apart from the main programme.

For Irene Chan, chief executive officer of AsiaWorld-Expo, the festival’s indoor-waterfront combination demonstrated the venue’s ability to develop new event formats.

“We are excited to bring a new land-and-sea exhibition concept to life at AsiaWorld-Expo, taking the exhibition experience beyond traditional boundaries.” She added, “We worked closely with the organiser to bring TFOC to Hong Kong, investing in dedicated berthing facilities and waterfront upgrades to make this concept possible. By connecting the indoor exhibition with the waterfront Marina Showcase, we are opening up new possibilities for international events in Hong Kong.”

A larger festival edition is planned for June 2027, with organisers envisaging a “City as Your Showroom” approach across five or six Hong Kong districts. With AWE as its hub, proposed experiences include private museum evenings, waterfront dining and cultural programmes.
 

Indoor and outdoor integration for connected experiences

This vision of connected experiences also underpins AWE’s Phase 2 expansion, which is targeted for construction completion by the end of 2028. Its centrepiece, the Super Arena, is being designed to host international productions, major live events and elite sporting competitions, with flexible staging configurations and room for more than 20,000 spectators.

Alongside the arena, AWE’s exhibition space is expected to grow from approximately 70,000 square metres to 100,000 square metres. But the ambition is not simply to add floor space. Phase 2 will connect with the existing facilities, allowing organisers to link venues and indoor and outdoor spaces across both phases, creating synergy with SKYTOPIA, a world-class airport-city destination integrating commercial activity, culture, tourism, entertainment and leisure. 
 

Those connections will give organisers greater scope to integrate exhibitions, conventions, sporting events, live entertainment and public experiences within a single programme, adapting the mix to different event requirements.

Outdoor areas are also intended to host markets, performances, sporting activities, dining and interactive brand experiences. A convention could flow into waterfront dining; an exhibition could incorporate outdoor entertainment before culminating in a performance inside the Super Arena. The possibilities extend from daytime business gatherings to evening leisure and entertainment.

For now, the waterfront debut has shown what can happen when an exhibition opens its doors to the spaces around it. Phase 2 promises to take that idea further, giving organisers more ways to connect business, culture, sport and entertainment, and visitors more reasons to stay.