Hong Kong Bun Festival: Watch the bun-scrambling competition live

Hong Kong’s colorful Bun Festival is returning to the tiny island of Cheung Cahu – and you can watch it live. 

The event, also known as the Cheung Chau Jiao Festival, has been celebrated for more than 100 years, according to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office. It says that according to folklore, residents started the rituals and traditions to dispel disaster and pray for blessings after the island was devastated by a plague.

During the festival, residents and tourists pack the island to watch children parade in costumes in the "floating colors" parade. Children dress up as gods and goddesses as they dance through the streets. 

There are also long lines outside shops selling steam buns and stores stocked with bun-themed souvenirs. Visitors eat the buns stamped with Chinese characters for "safety" and "peace." 

"If you eat the buns, you will have even more peace and safety," Kwok Siu_kan, the owner of the Kwok Kam Kee Cake Shop, told The Associated Press.

FILE - People watch a bun scrambling competition during the annual Bun Festival in Cheung Chau, a small island south of Hong Kong, south China, on May 27, 2023. (Photo by Li Gang/Xinhua via Getty Images)

In addition, brave participants will scramble up a tower made of buns and try to grab as many as possible. The person who successfully retrieves the bun at the top of structure will allegedly being luck to their family. 

The festival’s highlight, which happens at midnight, was suspended for decades after an accident in 1978 when a collapse injured many, and only restarted in 2005.

How to watch Hong Kong Bun Festival

The Hong Kong Bun Festival parade kicks off Tuesday May 14, 2024 at 9:30 p.m. ET time. The competition will start at noon on Wednesday, May 15.

You can watch the Hong Kong Bun Festival on LiveNOW from FOX, a national news service powered by FOX Television Stations. Coverage of the event will be dependent on other breaking news coverage.

This story was reported from Los Angeles. The Associated Press contributed.