No 1 fans: The crowd roars in delight as UK boy band Westlife takes to the stage at Tamar on October 25.

There is no Government commitment to fund similar large-scale events after Harbour Fest.

The live music festival is a one-off entertainment event organised by the American Chamber of Commerce, with financial support from the Government as part of the Economic Relaunch Programmes.

There is no commitment by the Government to sponsor any future Harbour Fests, and any proposal for financial support will need to be approved by the Legislative Council.

IP rights retained 

AmCham devised the idea of an international entertainment festival at the Tamar site, but the festival's intellectual property rights are owned by the Government. Although it has given AmCham temporary custody of those rights for the next five years, it has made no commitment for funding.

However, this does not prevent anyone from organising, on a self-standing basis, a purely commercial venture similar to Harbour Fest.

Advance will not affect liability

The Government and AmCham entered into three legally-binding agreements on July 31, August 29 and October 3, and upon execution of each, the latter was paid $25 million as an advance of the sponsorship fee. Payment in advance is an established practice for both sporting and entertainment events.

This advance payment does not affect the Government's ultimate liability, which is limited to a maximum of $100 million - as stated in the contract. If the final shortfall is less than $100 million, the balance will be refunded to the Government.