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 The
Indian leg of the Hong Kong AXN Challenge organised by the
Hong Kong Tourism Board and AXN took place on Saturday in
South Mumbai. Senior marketing manager AXN Rohit Bhandari
said that this was the first time the channel had organised
an event on such a large scale in India. Smaller events
held in the past have included go- karting and action themed
movie festivals he said.
The
event represents the 'daring, adventurous and irreverent
spirit' of the channel, he said. Twelve teams from the Navy,
the Army, Air Force, corporate houses as well as hardcore
adventurists took part.
Apparently
the channel received 460 responses but restricted the number
of teams to keep track of the goings on. Bhandari said that
later in the year the channel would have a similar event
for India, which would cover five to six cities. The logistics
are still being worked out, he said. However, there would
be no restrictions on the number of participants allowed.
He also said that the channel would be looking for sponsors
for the event.
Bhandari
also said that there wasn't much of a relationship with
the tourism  boards
of other countries in the region at the moment as most of
them have already held their tourism promotions. In Singapore
the channel is on the terrestrial band. Bhandari pointed
out that Malaysia had acted as a sponsor for the Oscar winning
film 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon'.
Regional
director South and South East Asia Hongkong Tourism Board,
David Leung, said that partnering with AXN was a brand fit
as both organisations target the same audience. Both promote
themselves as action adventure destinations which throb
with activity.
The
board is also looking at promoting two events in Hong Kong.
A mega sale is on from June till August and the board will
use the media to spread awareness among Indians some of
whom are shopping addicts. He also said that the street
carnival taking place just before Christmas would see Hong
Kong's 18 districts unite. The three areas around which
the 'city of life' is being promoted are conservation, tourism
and recreation, he said.
 As
far as Saturday's event was concerned the teams swam in
the open sea, ran, cycled and finally row boated. The top
five teams tested their mental agility with a written test
about Hong Kong.
The
number one placed team of CR Panda and VS Dahiya compete
in the grand finale in Hong Kong on 20 April. Before that,
regional competitions will be held to decide participants
from Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia and Bangkok. Snippets
of all regional events will air on the channel in a series
of episodes. Besides complex sports the Hong Kong, showdown
will see contestants answering questions about Hong Kong
at each checkpoint.
There
will also be a challenge along the lines of the reality
show 'Who dares wins'. This will be in the form of a 'treasure-hunt-cum-street
dares' competition. The Hong Kong event will air in its
entirety on the channel.
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