Striking design of Macao’s float (photo provided by Government Information Bureau)
A grand rally was held at Tian’anmen Square in Beijing on the National Day to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China. Themed as “Blooming Lotus”, Macao’s float marked its glamorous presence as part of the “Children of China” formation in the mass pageantry. With its strikingly unique design, the float was honored with the “Splendid Award” by the Division of Service Safeguarding and Command for Mass Pageantry of the Celebration Rally, revealing the audiences’ fondness for the float. The float marched on the day carrying Macao Tourism Mascot MAK MAK and personages of different fields from Macao, sharing the joy of the National Day celebration.
The Division of Service Safeguarding and Command for Mass Pageantry of the Celebration Rally assigned a professional team to appraise 34 floats created by different places for the mass pageantry on the National Day, in the aspects of creative design, technical production, artistic presentation and so forth. Three awards namely “Design Award”, “Splendid Award” and “Innovative Award” were presented without ranking the awardees. Among others, Macao’s float was presented the “Splendid Award”. To reflect the strong support of the Central Government and the united efforts of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government and residents in Macao, while embodying the social prosperity, harmony as well as urban characteristics of Macao as a city ideal for commute, travel, recreation, work and living, Macao’s float was created to bring out visual elements of the major design as a “Blooming Lotus”. Images of the Ruins of St. Paul’s and the new campus of the University of Macau were also incorporated into the design to demonstrate the harmonious integration between ancient monuments and modernity in the city. The float featured a golden curve which symbolized a great bridge, one of the city’s major imageries, implying Macao’s continuous role as a bridge between the cultures of East and West. The wavy design at the bottom of the float represented Macao’s status as a shoreline city and the year-round calendar of event experiences offered by the city.
The float’s overall design was in distinct gradation with sophisticated details. It was ornamented with blackish-green directional signs which are typical amidst streets in Macao. The signs indicated “world centre of tourism and leisure”, “commercial and trade cooperation service platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries”, as well as “base for cultural exchange and cooperation”, to highlight the positioning of Macao as “one centre, one platform and one base” endorsed by the Country at the dawn of the new era, clearly guiding Macao’s development. The three directional signs were positioned against each other at 70-degree and 20-degree angles respectively, symbolizing the 70th anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China and the 20th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region. Videos themed as “Blooming Macao”, “Glamorous Macao” and “Dazzling Macao” were displayed on the huge screens of the float to showcase Macao’s events, festivals and dynamic as a Creative City of Gastronomy, among other aspects, revealing the transforming cityscape of Macao under stable and prosperous social progress over the last two decades.
On the day, Macao Tourism Mascot MAK MAK and personages from different fields in Macao gathered on the float, manifesting the harmonious confluence of diverse cultures. The fields include motorsport, higher education, culinary profession, intangible cultural heritage of Macao, Macanese culture as well as festivals and celebrations, among others. Together they expressed best wishes from Macao to audiences enjoying the pageantry on-site and through live broadcast, sharing the joy of celebrating the National Day, as well as the passion and vigorous dynamic of Macao.
A grand rally was held at Tian’anmen Square in Beijing on 1st October to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China. After the grand rally for celebration unfolded, a massive military parade and mass pageantry were held. Among different processions in the mass pageantry, a formation themed as “Children of China” consisted of 34 floats from various provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, making a feast for the eyes.
