Stones Will Rock Hong Kong

The Rolling Stones will play two concerts in Hong Kong next month, despite earlier reports that they wouldn't.

Rolling Stones tour director Michael Cohl said concerts have been scheduled for Nov. 7 and 9 as part of the Harborfest celebrations. The band has never performed in the Chinese city in their 40-year history.

"We have received the deposit money from Hong Kong and the band's lawyers have a signed contract having concluded negotiations last week," Cohl said in a statement.

The Stones' appearance appeared to have fallen through last week, when concert organizers said talks with the band had collapsed.

The Hong Kong organizers could not immediately verify Cohl's statement.

Harborfest is a concert series intended to revitalize Hong Kong after the SARS outbreak earlier this year. The festival is set to open Friday and run through Nov. 9. Other acts include Prince, Santana and Westlife.

Hong Kong lawmakers had accused the Chinese government of false advertising after it was reported that The Stones wouldn't perform.

"How could you go around touting the band without a contract in hand?" independent legislator Audrey Eu asked at a Saturday hearing reviewing the finances of the Harbor Fest concert series.

The government has already drawn criticism for agreeing to cover as much as $10.2 million in losses, a burden legislators said was better shouldered by the private sector.

Concert promoters had downplayed the Stones' expected absence, saying other top acts will be performing, including Carlos Santana, Jose Carreras and Prince.

The Stones had been set to play Hong Kong and mainland China earlier in the year, but canceled as the severe acute respiratory syndrome crisis was sweeping the region.

According to the World Health Organization, more than 8,000 people contracted SARS this year, and 774 died from it. China had roughly 5,300 cases and Hong Kong 1,755, and the two areas combined for 648 — or 83 percent — of the deaths.