With a final sold-out event at the Grand Hyatt in Hong Kong this week, the annual Financial Times Great Debate, in conjunction with the Literary Festivals in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, drew to a close.

Now in its third year, the 2011 event focused on the globalisation of culture. Debating the topic were columnists Lucy Kellaway and Simon Kuper, while arts writer Peter Aspden and arts editor Jan Dalley insisted that the spread of cheap and mainstream art, films and music risks suppressing local cultures. The panel was chaired by Asia editor David Pilling.