Hong Kong seniors celebrate life with mass marriage vow renewal

HONG KONG – Rowdy cheers spilled from a Hong Kong banquet hall hosting a mass wedding party, as one of the 20 elderly couples renewing their vows coquettishly shared a strawberry marshmallow mouth-to-mouth.
Dressed to impress, the brides and grooms — mostly in their 70s — were in high spirits as they took part in the 17th Elderly Wedding event, organised by a local NGO to highlight the importance of love to mental well-being among older adults.
The full three-day event has returned after a five-year hiatus caused first by the huge, sometimes violent pro-democracy protests that engulfed Hong Kong in 2019, and then the coronavirus.
The pandemic left its mark in other ways too.
“In previous years, we had participants even in their 90s, but… many older individuals lost their lives to Covid-19,” said volunteer team leader Chan Hiu-ching.
“That’s why the demographics skew younger this year.”
Chan Siu-kam, the chairman of the organising NGO, came up with the idea around 20 years ago.
While visiting a care home, she noticed a beautiful gown one of the residents was using for a photoshoot, and saw the desire to dress up for a special occasion did not necessarily fade with age.
“This is a way for the elderly to connect with others,” Chan explained.
“Their needs extend beyond financial or physical support — their mental health is often overlooked by society.”
Many of the participants had reached out themselves, she said, with some of the more tech-savvy ones coming across the event on Facebook.
After the banquet, the couples piled into two brightly coloured Hong Kong trams and set off along the tracks, waving to passers-by who stopped to watch delightedly.
As Hong Kong’s population ages, keeping the elderly connected with wider society is increasingly important, Chan Hiu-ching said.
“I believe what Hong Kong really needs right now is positive energy,” volunteer Ivy Lau told AFP.
“After the pandemic and the economic downturn, we need more positivity and happiness.”