Best things to do in Hong Kong this January

It’s official: Hong Kong never sleeps. The city is already upping the pace in 2026 with an enticing list of happenings in January. It’s an especially good month for music heads, with top K-pop idols and intriguing indie acts passing through town, plus the return of the artsy, eclectic Fringe Festival. Sports fans also have plenty to get excited about, with the Hong Kong Tennis Open swinging into Victoria Park, and 70,000 runners hitting the streets for the Hong Kong Marathon. 

Fountain de Chopin turns three years old

Hong Kong’s homegrown jazz community Fountain de Chopin – equal parts performance collective, live venue and music school – celebrates three years of promoting improvised sounds in Hong Kong with an almighty all-day festival . A total of nine shows are included in the ticket price, pairing scene elders like Teriver Cheung and Justin Siu with next-gen bandleaders Matthew Chan and Jeffrey Wong. The whole thing culminates, as it should, with a three-hour jam session.

The Fringe Festival makes a glorious return

These stats say it all: more than 300 artists, appearing in 70 site-specific performances, over six weeks. After making a return to the city’s cultural calendar in 2025 – for the first time since 2011 – the revived Fringe Festival  proves it’s here to stay with an ambitious series of events running through January and February. The programming promises to honour both Hong Kong’s cosmopolitan character, and the host Fringe Club’s heritage as a dairy farm storage depot-turned-arts hub. The theme is all about cross-disciplinary expression, but if you need a more concrete guide of what to expect, events have been neatly split into eight categories: music, dance, theatre, magic, movies, comedy, family and art tech.

Hong Kong Tennis Open 2026 (ATP 250)

Some of the world’s top male tennis players are expected to begin their year in Hong Kong, competing on the courts in Victoria Park at the ATP’s Hong Kong Tennis Open  from 4-11 January. Traditionally a stop for pros on their way to the Australian Open, last year’s cup saw eight competitors in both the singles and doubles competition, with Frenchman Alexandre Müller taking home the US$103,455 (HK$804,746) prize money for winning the single’s championship. The contest follows the corresponding WTA women’s event, which saw the women’s singles cup go to Canada’s Victoria Mboko in October 2025. 

Epic K-pop concerts in Hong Kong

January is a K-pop lovers’ dream month, with a slew of Korean idols passing through town. Kicking things off are a trio of boybands, all performing at AsiaWorld-Arena.  Tomorrow x Together play a run of three nights from 9-11 January, before veterans Day6 celebrate a decade of fame from 17-18 January as part of their 10th-anniversary tour , and NCT Wish – a Japanese-Korean sub-unit of the ever-popular boyband NCT – make a stop in Hong Kong on their first world tour on 24 and 25 January. 

They have some notable competition, though – in case you missed it, the one and only Blackpink close things out with three performances  at Kai Tak Stadium, from 24 to 26 January. 

Big Cantopop shows at Wonderland 

Homegrown idol On Chan of C AllStar fame makes his solo debut at WestK’s outdoor Wonderland venue on 10 and 11 January . A week later on 17 and 18 January, the same venue welcomes two shows from Hong Kong-born, Canada-raised reality TV star Jay Fung , who made his mark locally in with 2017 release Hong Kong, My Home, marking the 20th anniversary of the SAR’s establishment.  

Hong Kong Marathon 2026

The Hong Kong Marathon  is one of East Asia’s biggest running events, drawing as many as over 70,000 participants in previous years. Expect to see much of the city come to a standstill on 18 January as major roads close and thousands of spectators gather along the route, especially around the lively finishing line at Victoria Park. It’s all about inclusivity: the event is one of a handful of large-scale marathons worldwide that also welcome competitors in the concurrent half-marathon and 10km races.

More sports events in Hong Kong

The marathon weekend will see brave and gruelling athletes test their mettle in the Four Peaks Race , a 24-hour, multi-disciplinary competition organised by Aberdeen Boat Club where participants compete on land and sea, from 17-18 January. For more boat-related excitement, Hong Kong Race Week  takes place from 27 January until 1 February. Meanwhile, trail runners give their all on 22-25 January at the Hong Kong 100  – an ultramarathon featuring races of 31km, 50km, 100km and 181km.  

Cool indie gigs in Hong Kong

Indie kids are also in luck this January, with a string of cool international visitors coming to town. Selected highlights? North Point venue Mom Livehouse hosts Belgian shoegaze group Slow Crush on 22 January and gritty Pitchfork-approved Californian alt-country proponents Wednesday on 25 January. Canadian lo-fi indie trio Men I Trust perform at Tides on 29 January, while two days later Taiwanese emo-rock band Song of Crane present new album Glow at LauBak Livehouse.

Last but not least, an epic weekender featuring 22 top Hong Kong artists will be staged by long-running events platform The Underground, at Fringe Club 23-24 January.

Two classical superstars in Hong Kong 

At the other end of the music spectrum, January also sees Hong Kong Philharmonic  welcome two of its biggest names of the year, with famed Italian conductor Daniele Gatti conducting two epic programmes – including Mahler’s mighty, 80-minute seventh symphony on 23 January, Meanwhile, superstar German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter performs a crowd evening of hummable John Williams movie themes – from Star Wars to Harry Potter, on 29 and 30 January.

A poetic journey through the craft of timepieces 

This month, renowned maison Van Cleef & Arpels celebrates its watchmaking savoir-faire with a pop-up exhibition showcasing its craftsmanship and heritage. Staged atop the Central Ferry Pier 4 – a location better known as the Lamma Island pier – The Poetry of Time takes place from 24 January to 8 February. Book your visit here .  

Hong Kong International Horse Show

For equestrian enthusiasts, the arrival of the inaugural Hong Kong International Horse Show  was something to celebrate in 2025. The even better news? It’s back, from 30 January to 1 February. Expect some gruelling competitions starring riders from over 30 countries, plus Shetland pony shows, a designated kids’ zone and the Lifestyle Shopping Village. Dog lovers can also rejoice: new to the lineup for 2026 is a canine agility show.