Ronaldo's Hong Kong Tour
Welcome to Ronaldo's HK Tour (07-09, August 1999)
Ronaldo had came to Hong Kong from 07-09 to promote his official watch - Montega Geneve R9 Chronograph. Me, the siteowner was so lucky to be invited to address the ceremony. In order to share my happiness as well as the best birthday gift I ever received to all the other Ronaldo fans, here I proudly present you the full coverage of his tour.
*The picture marked with an '*' is taken by me
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| *The huge advertisement welcoming Ronaldo |
08-08-1999, The Montega Functions
It was not until the morning of 07 that the whole Hong Kong media received the exact time of Ronaldo's arrival. Thousands of fans of Ronaldo flew to the airport to wait for their super hero. At about 14:00, Ronaldo came out with his father smelling the air of the Pearl of the Orient.
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| Ronaldo arrived at Hong Kong with his father |
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Although Ronaldo and his father was using the exclusive exit of the airport, they could not escaped from thousands of the eyes scanning everywhere at the exit of the terminal. The crowd included both his fans and people from the press rushed to his side and tried their best to take picture of him. Ronaldo and his father were kept away from bodyguards, but he still smiled at everyone he saw. Rumours were spread the next day that his father and manager were hurt by the crowd which sown the seeds for Ronaldo's a little bit incorporated attitude the next day.
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| Ronaldo was surrounded by the crowd after he got off. |
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Due to the professional performance of the bodyguards, Ronaldo got on the shuttle bus of the hotel within 15 minutes after arrival. He arrived at the Hotel Grand Hyatt at Wanchai at about 14:45. The panoramic view of Hong Kong was too impressive to Ronaldo that he and his father spent about the whole afternoon in their rooms to record the scene by using a handy camera. At a result, the shopping center at Tsim Sha Tsui was full of disappointing people as Ronaldo has cancelled his shopping plan there.
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| Ronaldo was sitting in the shuttle bus to the hotel. |
Ronaldo was supposed to be went out to the Hong Kong Coliseum to watch the concert of a local pop star in the evening. But at 21:00, he changed his mind and went out around Wanchai. The directions of the people waiting outside the hotel were driven away from him by 3 official cars that served Ronaldo. The way he escaped from the crowd was just as brilliant as how he escaped from defenders on field.
Ronaldo came back to his room at about 03:00.
08-08-1999, The Montega Functions
No one could follow Ronaldo as he is so fast and skilful. In the morning of 08, Ronaldo went to the airport unseen, (about 1 hour traffic time from his hotel) and came back with a blonde Brazilian. He then went to meet the president of Hong Kong Sport Association for lunch as scheduled. All the people there, including both his officers and the public were amazing about him. But a kiss between the two young people cleared all their minds.
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| Ronaldo coming to the president's home with surprise |
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Ronaldo introduced his new girlfriend to the public |
She is Milene Domingues. A 20 years old Brazilian. She loves football, and she is a record holder of Guinness for football up-holding: 45 minutes for female.
| The menu of the lunch | ||
| Appetiser | Cold crab meat with biscuit in Vanilla sauce | |
| Soup | Mushroom soup | |
| Main Courses | ... | Fried Salmon and Scallop with assorted vegetables |
| Dessert | Assorted cake and coffee | |
The president welcomed the press and his fans after the lunch. They were so crazy that some of his furniture were carelessly damaged. Ronaldo signed on their shirts and was invited to make photos with them. Before they left, the president gave some gifts to both Ronaldo and his Milene. Ronaldo was given a Chinese antique sword from Szechuen. He played it immediately in front of his fans and won many applause. For Milene, a find silk scarf was given to her.
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Ronaldo was playing his gift |
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The president presenting his gift to Milene |
It was about 15:00 when Ronaldo said farewell to the president. Again, he could not go to Tsim Sha Tsui for shopping as he had late for the lunch because of Milene. Now, Ronaldo could only go back to his room and prepare for the press conference of his watch.
The conference began at 16:00, and Ronaldo appeared at 16:30. It was the only occasion for the local media to talk to Ronaldo during his tour. Ronaldo was asked for his impression to Hong Kong, his opinion to the new Brazilian squad, and his future passion.
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*Ronaldo was looking at me during the conference |
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| *The booklet (China Issue) | *The CD-Rom |
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| *Answering question | *Showing his watch with Marc as they did in the commercial |
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| *The Pass | *Milene and his father |
A cocktail party was held after the conference, but Ronaldo decided to take a rest. He and Milene were found playing football with his officers on the garden of the hotel. The two young people were the winners of the game.
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Ronaldo playing football with Milene |
Until 19:00, Ronaldo went down to the hotel's ballroom for the auction ceremony. 3 stainless steel version of R9 were put on auction. They were numbered as 888 (The lucky number of Chinese culture); 1997 (The most important year of Hong Kong's history); and 1999 (An additional auction). The original price of the watch is US$ 3,000. And they were sold at ~US$ 40,000; ~US$ 20,000 and ~US$ 15,000 respectively. The whole auction ceremony was ended after Ronaldo finished his dinner with the guests.
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Ronaldo was greeted by a little girl before he left from the ceremony. |
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Ronaldo thanks the guests |
A farewell party was prepared for Ronaldo at 23:00 in the biggest disco of the city - Star East. But the man of the day had not turned out for 4 hours. The fact was discovered at 02:00 when Ronaldo's father and manager came to the disco. They said that Ronaldo was unable to come because of unexpected stomach-ache.
Ronaldo woke up at 12:00 and all the pains were gone. The whole group went to the hotel's garden to play football again.
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Playing together in the tennis court |
As compensation to his loyal fans, Ronaldo went to Star East at 15:00. He had his lunch there and talked to his fans for about 10 minutes. This was his final task in Hong Kong.
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Talking to his fans |
Receiving gift again |
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| Leaving his fans | A Way to show relation |
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| Ronaldo's shuttle bus | Leaving Hong Kong |
Ronaldo went around Hong Kong on his bus afterward and back to his room at 17:00. At about 23:00, Ronaldo flew away from Hong Kong, using his Pirelli feet, to Switzerland with Milene only.
R9 Chronograph
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The Face |
The R9 Chronograph is produce by Montega Geneve, and designed by Marc Chatila, the chairman of the watch company, the one who sits next to Ronaldo.
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Ronaldo and his watch - gold |
The R9 Chronograph is exclusively designed for Ronaldo, as it included a 45 minutes stopper which equals to the half-time of a football match.
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Ronaldo's autograph and his watch |
The R9 Chronograph is made of platinum, gold or steel. They are released in a limited and numbered series. The platinum version will comprise 199 pieces and priced at about US$ 25,000; the gold version will be produced in 1,999 pieces at about US$ 15,000 each; and the steel version 19,999 pieces at about US$ 4,000 each.
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The back |
