MGTO Director Senna Fernandes speaks at the ceremony
The 29th Macao International Fireworks Display Contest culminated in splendour tonight (1 October), the National Day. Liuyang New Year Fireworks Trading Co., Ltd from China won the championship, followed by the fireworks teams Marutamaya Ogatsu Fireworks Co., Ltd. from Japan and Potsdamer Feuerwerk GmbH from Germany as the first and second runners-up.
The prize-giving ceremony was held at Macau Tower Convention and Entertainment Centre. Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government, Alexis Tam, Director of Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, Deputy Directors Cheng Wai Tong and Ricky Hoi attended the ceremony together with the jury and other guests, presenting awards to the winners.
In speaking at the ceremony, Director Senna Fernandes remarked that MGTO collaborates with community organizations and the private sector to present supporting activities concurrently for the Fireworks Contest every year, providing residents and visitors with colorful festive experiences. As the Contest steps into its 30th version soon, and 2019 being also the year for the Macao Special Administrative Region to celebrate the 20th anniversary since its establishment, MGTO will continue to join hands with partner entities to enrich and upgrade the event program to a new level of fascination, dedicated to forging the Contest into a globally-prestigious annual event.
Various internationally-acclaimed fireworks companies come from worldwide to join the Macao International Fireworks Display Contest every year. In this edition, the ten teams came from (in order of appearance in the Contest): the Philippines, Korea, Japan, Belgium, France, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Italy and China. Among them, the fireworks companies from Korea, Belgium, France and China made their debut in Macao, while the companies from Italy, Japan and the Philippines have won accolades in past editions of the Contest in Macao.
This year, the fireworks displays were designed to bring out different themes each scheduled evening. The theme for tonight (1 October) is “National Day Fireworks Celebration”, with splendid fireworks presented by the teams from Italy and China in celebration of the 69th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China. Their fireworks displays added festive vibes in town on the National Day. Different vantage points on Macao Peninsula and Taipa bustled with spectators. Besides the Fireworks Carnival, the 3rd Macau International Lantern Festival was held at the Waterfront Promenade of One Central Macau and Wynn Macau, as well as Anim’Arte Nam Van, all of which were great places for fireworks watching this year and enlivened with a festive ambience.
Since the inaugural edition unveiled by MGTO in 1989, the Macao International Fireworks Display Contest has developed into one of Macao’s signature mega events and drawn a vast number of spectators from around the world to Macao every year. To encourage participation and enhance enjoyment among local residents, an array of outreach programs were rolled out in tandem with the Fireworks Contest this year, including the Trophy Design Contest, Photo Contest and Student Drawing Contest, as well as the Songwriting Contest newly launched to welcome the 30th edition of the Contest. Filled with a palette of highlights, the Fireworks Carnival was also staged every fireworks evening as an annual side activity of the Contest, while the Office also supported local businesses to roll out the 3rd Macau International Lantern Festival, all together infusing the city with extra festive vibes.
In the future, MGTO will continue to present more fascinating events and festivals filled with innovations, and magnify the scale and effect of mega events through collaboration with different governmental departments, entities and local organizations, in order to attract a broader diversity of market segments, encourage locals’ participation and boost the destination profile internationally, in line with the vision to build Macao into a World Centre of Tourism and Leisure.
