Leisure and Cultural Services Department

{{Infobox government agency

| agency_name = Leisure and Cultural Services Department

| nativename_a = 康樂及文化事務署

| logo = HK Leisure and Cultural Services Department Logo.svg

| logo_width = 160px

| logo_caption =

| seal =

| seal_width =

| seal_caption =

| headquarters = Leisure and Cultural Services Headquarters, 1-3 Pai Tau Street, Sha Tin, Hong Kong

| formed = {{Start date and age|df=y|2000|1|1}}

| preceding1 = The leisure and cultural functions of:

{{bulleted list|

}}

| dissolved =

| superseding =

| jurisdiction = Hong Kong

| employees = 10108 (March 2019) [http://www.budget.gov.hk/2008/eng/pdf/head095.pdf]

| budget = 5,054.9m HKD (2008-09) [http://www.budget.gov.hk/2008/eng/pdf/head095.pdf]

| chief1_name = Ms Manda CHAN Wing-man, JP

| chief1_position = Director

| parent_agency = Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau

| child1_agency = Hong Kong Public Libraries

| website = [http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/ www.lcsd.gov.hk]

| footnotes =

}}

{{Infobox Chinese

| pic = LCSDHeadquarters 20071111.jpg

| picsize = 180px

| piccap = LCSD headquarters

| t = 康樂及文化事務署

| s = 康乐及文化事务署

| ci = {{IPA|yue|hɔ́ːŋlɔ̀ːk kɐ̀p mɐ̏nfāː ɕìmòutɕʰy̬ː|}}

| j = Hong¹ lok⁶ gap⁶ man⁴ faa³ si⁶ mou⁶ syu⁵

| y = Hōng lohk gahp màhn fa sih mouh syúh

| p = Kānglè jí Wénhuà Shìwù Shǔ

}}

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), is a department in the Government of Hong Kong. It reports to the Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau, headed by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism. It provides leisure and cultural activities for the people of Hong Kong, which was also one of the tasks of the former Urban Council, and Regional Council and Home Affairs Bureau. It manages various public facilities around Hong Kong including public libraries, swimming pools, sports centres, parks, beaches and waterfront areas. The well-known Hong Kong Cultural Centre and Hong Kong Space Museum are among several museums also managed by the department. It was established in 2000 and its headquarters is in Shatin, New Territories.

Until July 2022, the department was headed by the Secretary for Home Affairs.

List of directors for LCSD

Thomas Chow Tat-ming (2000–2009)
Betty Fung Ching Suk-yee, JP (2009–2014)
Michelle Li Mei-sheung, JP (2014–2019){{cite web|title=Senior appointments (with photos)|url=http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201406/18/P201406180648.htm|publisher=Government of Hong Kong|access-date=29 July 2014|date=18 June 2014}}
Vincent LIU Ming-kwong, JP (2019-2024)

Facilities and services

=Museums=

Image:HongKongMuseumOfHistory.png]]

=Parks=

Image:A flower nursery on Princess Margaret Road.JPG garden]]

Most public parks and gardens are managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

=Public libraries=

Hong Kong Public Libraries (HKPL) consists of 67 static and 10 mobile libraries offering a total collection of 12.3 million items of books, audio/video materials, newspapers and periodicals, etc.{{cite web|url=https://www.hkpl.gov.hk/english/aboutus/aboutus_intro/aboutus_intro.html|title=Hong Kong Public Libraries - Introduction|date=2009-04-14|publisher=Leisure and Cultural Services Department|access-date=2009-10-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051221040920/http://www.hkpl.gov.hk/english/aboutus/aboutus_intro/aboutus_intro.html|archive-date=21 December 2005|url-status=dead}} Among the most significant libraries are the Hong Kong Central Library, Kowloon Public Library, and Sha Tin Public Library.

=Beaches=

Among Hong Kong's many hundreds of beaches, there are 42 gazetted beaches, which are provisioned and managed by LCSD. Services usually include toilets and showers, shark nets (although actual shark sightings are rare), a lifeguard service, regular cleaning, and water quality monitoring.

=Sports and fitness=

The LCSD operates two stadiums, (Hong Kong Stadium and Mong Kok Stadium), along with numerous sports grounds, indoor sporting halls and courts, and public swimming pools.

Sports Subvention Scheme

Under the Sports Subvention Scheme, the LCSD provides recurrent subvention to 62 national sports associations (NSAs) in Hong Kong, at levels ranging from around HK$0.5 million to HK$10 million (in 2011–12). Until 2004–2005, NSAs received subventions from the statutory Hong Kong Sports Development Board.[http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr11-12/english/panels/ha/papers/ha0113cb2-772-4-e.pdf Legislative Council Panel on Home Affairs LC Paper No. CB(2)772/11-12(04)][https://www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/programmes/programmeslist/sss/nsa.html Contact Information of Subvented National Sports Associations], LCSD. Accessed 30 Dec 2024 NSAs are members of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, which is the National Olympic Committee in Hong Kong responsible for the co-ordination of all local sports organisations and the promotion of sports in Hong Kong.

National security

In August 2023, it said that the next operator of the Avenue of Stars would have to comply with national security concerns.{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=James |date=2023-08-25 |title=Avenue of Stars operator must safeguard national security, Hong Kong gov't says |url=https://hongkongfp.com/2023/08/26/avenue-of-stars-operator-must-safeguard-national-security-hong-kong-govt-says/ |access-date=2023-08-26 |website=Hong Kong Free Press HKFP |language=en-GB}}