PUBLISHED November 22nd, 2025 01:56 am | UPDATED November 24th, 2025 06:52 am
Clockenflap isn’t just a music festival. It’s part of Hong Kong’s cultural infrastructure, an annual ritual that reclaims the city’s public space with sound, movement, and shared experience. From 5 to 7 December 2025, Clockenflap returns to the Central Harbourfront, anchoring itself once again at the intersection of music, art, and everyday urban life.
This year marks 15 years since the festival first opened its gates, and it continues to evolve with the city around it. What began as a scrappy, independent gathering has become one of Asia’s most anticipated festivals, not by scaling up endlessly, but by staying close to the city it was built for.
A Lineup That Crosses Borders and Generations
The 2025 edition brings with it a lineup that spans decades and continents. Bloc Party headlines Saturday night with their first-ever Hong Kong performance, an overdue arrival for one of the UK’s most influential indie rock acts. My Bloody Valentine closes Sunday with a rare live set that will likely be one of the weekend’s most talked-about moments. On Friday, J-pop’s phenomenon Vaundy appears for the first time outside Japan, adding youthful voltage to the programme.
Elsewhere, the curation feels like a mixtape made with intent. From Franz Ferdinand’s irrepressible post-punk to the melancholic poetics of Bright Eyes, from the trip-hop ether of Beth Gibbons to the cinematic sprawl of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, the festival traverses multiple sonic worlds with a coherence that’s more felt than declared.
Emerging voices from Asia and beyond: Thai troubadour Phum Viphurit, Indonesian rapper Rich Brian, Polish guitar virtuoso Marcin, add layers of texture and surprise, reflecting Clockenflap’s ethos of cultural cross-pollination.
More Than Music
Clockenflap has never been just about music. This year’s centrepiece, Minimax: The Planets, reimagines Gustav Holst’s celestial suite as a roving kinetic theatre work, part dance, part sculpture, part social experiment. Conceived by Clockenflap’s own Jay Hofmann-Forster and realised by Screw Up Studio, it draws audiences into a ritualised performance that moves through the festival’s architecture.
With five stages spread across the site, there’s no single centre of gravity. One moment might find you caught in a rush of UK electro at the Robot Stage; the next, quietly listening to a solo set on the grassy incline near Park Stage. The spaces in between: the art installations, food stalls, and spontaneous interactions, are just as important as the headline acts.
Local Energy, Regional Reach
At its core, Clockenflap is a portrait of its host city. In 2025, that means more local collaboration than ever: rappers Billy Choi and Ki Chan join forces with YouTube personality JFFT; jazz collective Fountain de Chopin partners with vocalist Lai Ying. These are not side acts, but centrepieces in their own right.
Food, too, is part of the conversation. Sixteen of the city’s most compelling food concepts, from TamJai’s fiery noodle broths to craft tacos and vegan gelato, serve as an edible index of Hong Kong’s evolving foodscape.
And Clockenflap is just the beginning. For those arriving from out of town (or locals looking to see their city anew), there’s plenty more to explore beyond the harbourfront. From steaming baskets of dim sum at timeless teahouses to the city’s new wave of boundary-pushing bars and hotels, Hong Kong’s cultural revival is happening at every level. Rediscover the city with our guide to new experiences, hotels, and restaurants, or plan a morning-after recharge with our take on where to go for Yum Cha in Hong Kong.
Family-Friendly, Future-Facing
One of Clockenflap’s defining features is its multigenerational appeal. Alongside the main programming, there’s a full slate of children’s workshops, performance spaces, and interactive installations. The festival design allows for both immersion and pause for music lovers, families, and the simply curious.
Sustainability isn’t tacked on as a gesture. It’s embedded in the experience: biodegradable packaging, refill stations, and a push to reduce waste without diminishing joy.
For three days each year, Clockenflap turns the city inside out. It offers a version of Hong Kong that’s lighter on hierarchy, looser in rhythm, and more open to the unexpected. You don’t just attend Clockenflap. You move through it, along with thousands of others, each drawn by their own reasons and finding new ones along the way.
Clockenflap 2025 runs from 5 to 7 December at the Central Harbourfront. Tickets are available via clockenflap.com with three-day General Admission passes at HK$1,990 and single-day tickets at HK$1,280. Discounts are available for under-18s, and children under three enter free. For artist updates and behind-the-scenes previews, follow @clockenflap on Instagram.