How Keith Macgregor is preserving neon memories in City of Lights, his latest photobook

By Hugo Novales

“We took [neon] for granted.”

Keith Macgregor, a commercial photographer who was already well-known in Hong Kong for his family portraits and postcard-worthy city shots, made a new name for himself in the late 1990s by capturing the city’s iconic neon signs which have now become a rare sight.

With the local government’s implementation of the Signboard Control System (SBCS) in 2010, neon seemingly disappeared overnight. Today, only about 500 neon signs – as opposed to the LEDs that have taken their place – can be spotted around Hong Kong.

Macgregor has since made it his mission to preserve neon memories through his comprehensive books that showcase his take on a Hong Kong that no longer exists. His seventh book, City of Lights, released earlier this year features his favourite signs, guest articles written by local neon experts, and even Macgregor’s own creative visions of what he wishes his favourite streets in Hong Kong looked like.

At an FCC Club Lunch moderated by Raymond Lam, a Senior Writer at Buddhistdoor Global and member of the Club’s Professional Committee, Macgregor talked about how neon shaped his life.

“I’m very guilty of not shooting [neon] in the 60s and 70s, not so much in the 60s, but [in] the 70s and 80s, I didn’t do enough at night,” he said, citing his responsibilities as a husband and father which kept him at home most evenings.

In a colourful presentation, Macgregor displayed side-by-side comparisons of Hong Kong’s vibrant streets at night versus what they look like today. Not all neon signs are gone, but the ones that remain are now subject to strict sizing rules that only smaller signs fit within.

The SBCS takes action against “large unauthorised signboards” and regularly surveys “unauthorised, abandoned or dangerous signboards” that could pose a threat to the general public, yet Macgregor finds little evidence that neon has ever been a hazard to anyone.  

“I don’t think anybody’s ever been killed in a hundred years by a neon sign, except for the poor people who install them, and they are heroes,” he said.

Macgregor also explained why neon, out of all the other great and amazing things that are found exclusively in Hong Kong, has such a special place in his heart.

“I think [neon] is such an amazing art form, and it lends itself to Chinese calligraphy so beautifully. That’s what’s so special about it,” he said.

Macgregor and his family currently reside in the UK. He’s now lived there longer than he’s lived in Hong Kong, yet he tries to return to the city every few years. There’s less neon each time he returns, yet he hopes that with City of Lights, this era of the city’s history will still be remembered.

“Things move on, we’ve got to accept it. I’m sad that neon’s gone,” Macgregor concluded.

A City of Lights exhibit, which includes copies of the book for sale, is open to the general public at the Blue Lotus Gallery in Tai Ping Shan, Hong Kong Island, from now until 4 October 2026. 

To watch the full discussion, please visit the FCC’s YouTube channel: