In celebration of the 18th anniversary of Macao’s Handover to China, the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) and other governmental and non-governmental organisations jointly hold the “2017 Macao International Parade” on Sunday, 17 December. In order to entreat success to the event, IC held a worship ceremony including a lion dance performance that was held today (14 December), at the Largo da Companhia de Jesus, in a cheerful and lively atmosphere, attracting many spectators.
The worship ceremony was attended by the Acting President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Ieong Chi Kin; the Vice-President of the Sports Bureau, Lau Cho Un; the Deputy Commissioner of the Fire Services Bureau, Chao Ka Cheong; the Head of Destination Marketing Department of the Macao Government Tourism Office, Betty Fok; the Acting Head of the Department of Operations of the Public Security Police Force, Chio Song Un; the Manager of Production Department of Teledifusão de Macau (TDM), Leong Chon Wa; the President of the Macao General Union of Neighbourhood Associations, Leong Heng Kao; the Group Marketing Associate Director of Coca-Cola Macau Limited, Sonia Vong; the Director of Business Development of the Macau Tower Convention & Entertainment Centre, Synthia Chan; and the Sales Director of AJ Hackett, Lo Iok Lin, among others.
The Organiser invited the event’s coordinating staff, the supporting entities and representatives of the performing groups to attend the ceremony. This year the Parade is themed “Features of Local Districts and Historic Monuments”, presenting a new route, as well as various performances by 64 local and foreign groups in a total of nearly 1,200 participants, who will sing and dance with the public along the route. On the day of the Parade, the Organiser will select the winners of the Most Outstanding Theme Award, the Most Amazing Costume Award, the Most Creative Award, the Most Energetic Award, Our Parade King Award and Our Parade Queen Award, thus encouraging participating groups to give their best during the event. Finally, after passing through various local districts and heritage sites led by VIVA, the participating groups will arrive at the Sai Van Lake Square to celebrate the handover in a festive and carnival atmosphere.
The Parade will be broadcast live on TDM, Teledifusão de Macau S.A., and TDM HD from 3pm to 7pm on the day of the event, while a Parade Special Programme dedicated to the event’s highlights will be broadcast at 10:30pm on 23 December on Hong Kong TVB Jade Channel, to allow the audiences to review the best moments of the event.
The Parade counts on the support of many associations. Special traffic arrangements like temporary road closure of the Parade route will be enforced on the day of the event, including first-aid posts and service stations arranged along the route. There will also be a giant balloon performance, and therefore unmanned aerial devices are not allowed in order to guarantee public safety.
For more information, please visit IC’s Parade website at www.icm.gov.mo/macaoparade, the page of the Parade on Facebook www.facebook.com/macaoparade or IC’s WeChat account (search ‘ICmacao’ on the WeChat platform).
View gallery