Thousands of people gathered on the rainy Saturday afternoon in Victoria Park to show support for the police and express objection to recent violence in Hong Kong.

The organizers of the anti-violence concert rally "Hope for tomorrow" said Saturday's event, which started at 3:00 p.m. local time, saw nearly 90,000 people in attendance.

Many of the participants waved the Chinese national flag and the flag of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and the crowd shouted slogans in support of the authorities and called for an end to violence.

"Today we are using a very peaceful approach, and through the way of music to let people express their appeals," Deng Decheng, chairman of the event organizer Politihk Social Strategic said. "You can speak out your opinions, but it should be in a legal and peaceful manner."

Many citizens in the rally also uttered their wish for peace and order to be restored soon in Hong Kong.

The rally comes as Hong Kong braces for another weekend of protests. Police have made a number of arrests on charges of illegal possession of offensive weapons and explosives in the last two days.

"A capable police force is the main reason that Hong Kong has been one of the safest places in the world," said Wong, a resident who came from Sha Tin in the New Territories to show his support to the police.

He added that the radicals who have severely disrupted the public order of Hong Kong should be strictly punished.

During the rally, organizers also played an audio clip featuring the worrying wife of a police officer.

"As the spouse of a police officer, I couldn't sleep many nights, and I don't know what to do," she said. "But I feel obliged to speak out (against violence)."

The audio clip ended with the sound of a little girl asking, "Dad, when are you coming home?"

At a press conference held on July 29, a spokesperson for the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of China's State Council expressed understanding for the Hong Kong police force and their families for the tremendous stress they have been under. The spokesperson also extended respect to Hong Kong police officers.

Heads of three major Hong Kong police associations have expressed their recognition of Hong Kong police's professionalism and the restraint exercised over the past period of time.

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(With input from Xinhua)