November 28, 2001 - Over 30 bars, restaurants and dance clubs in and around the SoHo and Lan Kwai Fong areas of Central are participating in Raise the Red Ribbon - a gigantic fundraising event for AIDS Concern, to be held on World AIDS Day, Saturday December 1, 2001.

As part of the event, a huge party for up to 600 people with live entertainment shows by The House of Siren, and a costume contest on the theme "dress to possess" will be staged at Queens nightclub in Central from 9pm onwards. An impressive line-up of DJs including Chris Sorensen, Gruv, Janva, and Joel Lai have all agreed to help keep the party dancing. So far, prizes for the best costumes have been donated by Baume & Mercier, The Body Shop, GOD, Gucci, and Martell.

Two further "satellite" parties will also be held at Home (from 10pm-4am) and Hardy's II.
It's going to be a hot night at Home with fabulous shows from Marguerite Lee lingerie. Sultry lovelies from Signal 8 Models will entice clubbers with a selection of outfits from the swimwear, underwear and nightwear collections. The DJ line-up is packed with talent - Kulu, Christian, Jean-Paul, Jonathon, Mike The Unstoppable, Jay Pelment and DJ Ladystar will all be in the house before Gruv takes over for his regular early morning spinning.

The whole venue will be transformed into a love den by salon de pigeon. And for the
first 200 clubbers at Home on World AIDS Day there'll be special adult novelty gifts to play with. Hardy's II meanwhile will pulsate to the sounds of DJ Johnson and also be decked out with décor by Salon de Pigeon (from 11.30pm).

Entrance to the main event at Queens will be $250, with entry to either of the other parties being $175 (Home) or $180 (Hardy's II). Alternatively, diehard partygoers can purchase a special Red Ribbon Pass for $350, which gives them access to all three parties.

At the same time another 36 bars and restaurants in the area will also be donating 10% of their gross takings for the night to AIDS Concern. The participating venues are 1/5, 2 Sardines, &A Phoenix, Al's Diner, Amida, Aqua, Blue, Boca, Brown, Café Gypsy, Café Siam, Caramba, Club 97, Cubana, Daluca, Drop, El Pomposo, G Spot, Indigo, La Dolce Vita, Le Jardin Club, Mes Amis, Oscars, Petticoat Lane, Phi-b, Post 97, Propaganda, Red Rock Bar and Grill, Rio Churrasco, Stormy Weather, The Annexx, The Bagel Factory, The Pavilion and Zip. A & A Phoenix Gallery, The Hairdressers and Frederique Spa will also be donating 10% of their takings on the day.

Additional events to be held for the charity include an arts fundraiser at the Meli-Melo Living Arts Café from 3-9pm (details from www.melimelohk.net), and an all-you-can eat "Recovery Brunch" including a glass of champagne from noon onwards at Gaia Italian Restaurant on Sunday 2nd December ($300 per person - reservations at Gaia on tel: 2167 8200).

"This year's event looks set to be our biggest World AIDS Day fundraiser ever, and we are delighted that so many venues have come together to offer their support" said Graham Smith, Chief Executive of AIDS Concern.

"We expect as many as 1000 partygoers to attend the three main parties, and thousands more to drink or dine at the other supporting bars and restaurants who are donating part of their proceeds that evening."

Tickets for all the events will be available from Saturday 10 November and can be purchased from Home, Post 97, phi-b, Queens and Zip. Due to anticipated high demand, early purchase of tickets is recommended.

For full details of the events and details about World AIDS Day visit the website on www.aidsconcern.org.hk

About AIDS Concern

AIDS Concern was founded in 1990 by a group of volunteers and was the first non-governmental AIDS agency in Hong Kong. The group delivers AIDS prevention programmes and support services for people living with AIDS. These support services are based on the GIPA (Greater Involvement of People Living with AIDS) principle: the group believes that the active participation of the people served results in more appropriate services that meet real needs. AIDS Concern's three outreach prevention programmes target men who have sex with men (MSM), cross-border travellers, and workers and customers in the local sex industry. The AIDS prevention programme for MSM has received international recognition from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS.)