Return of the Quack: Giant Inflatable Ducks Returning to Victoria Harbour

Hong Kong's famous Victoria Harbour will once again be graced with the presence of a giant inflatable rubber duck, and this time it is bringing a friend.

Created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, the original duck debuted in France in 2007 and was first displayed in Hong Kong in 2013.

Since then, the ducks have toured the world, stopping in many cities, including Taiwan's Kaohsiung, Seoul, Shanghai, Macau, and Toronto.

According to local news outlets, the two yellow rubber ducks were being tested in waters at a dockyard in Tsing Yi on Thursday morning before they are to be towed off to Admiralty in a week’s time.

The pair visiting Victoria Harbour will each be bigger than the previous duck, which was 16.5 meters tall. In the early hours of Thursday, dockyard workers were seen preparing to inflate the giant ducks.

Organiser AllRightsReserved, a Hong Kong-based art studio, is still finalizing details with local authorities regarding the exact location in the harbour and how long the pieces would be displayed.

The studio has organized various art exhibitions in Hong Kong since its establishment in 2003, including the display of 1,600 handcrafted paper pandas around the city in 2014, and thousands of LED roses from South Korea in Tamar Park in Central in 2016. In 2019, it exhibited a 37-meter-long sculpture of Kaws' Companion, a signature character created by artist Kaws.

When the previous duck floated off Tsim Sha Tsui for almost six weeks from May 2, 2013, it was a huge hit with locals and tourists. On May 15, the artwork deflated temporarily but was restored, after being the subject of memes on local social media platforms.

Hofman is known for creating larger-than-life pieces aimed at breaking the boundaries between people and public art spaces viewed as inaccessible. The return of the iconic rubber duck is a welcome sight for Hong Kong.