– About 500 People's Liberation Army vehicles crossed the border from China to Hong Kong. Pro-democracy advocates protest at the Legislative Council in preparation of Chinese rule.
– Beijing celebrations including live performances and fireworks were expected to run for 7 hours. The theme of Beijing Blesses you Hong Kong was under preparation.
– Moments before midnight the Flag of the United Kingdom and the fourth and final British colonial flag of Hong Kong were slowly lowered to the British national anthem "God Save the Queen," symbolising the end of British colonial rule in Hong Kong. Then, a 12-second hiatus occurred between the British and Chinese anthems.
Tuesday, 1 July 1997
– Sovereignty of Hong Kong is officially transferred from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China. The Flag of the People's Republic of China and the new Hong Kong regional flag were simultaneously raised to the Chinese national anthem "March of the Volunteers", to officially mark the beginning of the Chinese rule in Hong Kong. President Jiang Zemin gave a speech expressing his optimism for the "one country, two systems" implementation. Grand celebrations begin in the mainland with fireworks displays over Tiananmen Square.
– Charles, Prince of Wales and Governor Chris Patten with his family, bid the citizens of Hong Kong farewell at the Tamar site. They boarded HMY Britannia and sailed to the Philippines before heading back from the People's Republic of China to the United Kingdom. They were escorted by. Prime MinisterTony Blair and other British officials flew out by a British Airways Boeing 777-200ER from Kai Tak Airport to London's Heathrow Airport.
– Festival Performance by Hong Kong mainland and international celebrities at the Hong Kong Coliseum.
– Grand convention and art spectacle begins at the Workers Stadium in Beijing.
– The 1997 Hong Kong Spectacular featuring Causeway Bay to Victoria Harbour formal Central, Hong Kong fireworks display begins.
Reactions
In 2005, the British Mail on Sunday revealed Prince Charles's memorandum, of which "Clarence House said only 11 copies were made, circulated to close friends", where he referred to the transfer as the "Great Chinese Takeaway" and the Chinese officials as "appalling old waxworks". In another reported extract, Prince Charles described the ceremony as an "awful Soviet-style" performance and dismissed the speech by President Jiang Zemin as "propaganda", complete with loud cheering "by the bussed-in party faithful at the suitable moment in the text." He also ridiculed the People's Liberation Army's goose-steps in the ceremony and claimed his trip on HMY Britannia out of Hong Kong was closely watched by Chinese warships. The 12-second silence between the British and Chinese anthems has been adapted into the 2019 film My People, My Country.
