The “Parade through Macao, Latin City”, organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym), will be held on Sunday, 6 December, in celebration of the 16th anniversary of Macao’s handover to China and the 10th anniversary of the inscription of “The Historic Centre of Macao” on the World Heritage List. In order to facilitate public involvement and enjoyment, the organiser is announcing several arrangements including traffic/street special measures and admission guidelines for the public. The Parade’s Opening Ceremony will take place at the Ruins of St. Paul’s on 6 December, at 4pm. From there, the Parade will proceed to Rua de S. Paulo, Largo de Santo António, winding its way past Largo da Companhia, Rua de D. Belchior Carneiro, Rua dos Artilheiros, Rua de Sanches de Miranda, Calçada da Igreja de S. Lázaro, Santa Casa da Misericórdia Albergue, Rua de S. Roque, Rua Nova de S. Lázaro, St. Lazarus Square, Rua do Volong, Rua do Tap Siac and Rua de Afonso de Albuquerque, culminating in a Handover Celebration at Tap Seac Square, which will end at 7pm. The Parade general rehearsal will be held from 9pm to 11pm on 5 December. On the days of the Parade and of the general rehearsal, traffic/street special measures will be implemented as follows: prior to 9am on 5 December, all tour buses must be cleared away from the parking areas of Rua de D. Belchior Carneiro; from 9am on 5 December to 8pm on 6 December, parking meters along the parade route will be closed; from 9pm to 11pm on 5 December, the Parade general rehearsal will be held, thus the traffic will be limited along the Parade route; lastly, from 1pm to 5:30pm on 6 December, temporary closures will be implemented on Rua de S. Paulo, Rua de Santo António, Largo de Santo António, Largo da Companhia, Rua de D. Belchior Carneiro and Rua dos Artilheiros, and vehicles parked in the above-mentioned locations are not allowed to move. Instructions for the public on the day of the Parade, 6 December: The audience areas for the Opening Ceremony will be located at Rua de S. Paulo, the stairway of the Ruins of St. Paul’s and Calçada de S. Paulo. Crowd control measures will be applied to all the accesses to the audience areas from 2:45pm. Public can line up at the entrance at Rua de S. Paulo (near Loi Wo Temple) or the one located at the junction of Rua de D. Belchior Carneiro and Calçada de S. Paulo to watch the opening ceremony with free admission. The Parade’s Closing Ceremony (Handover Celebration) will be held at Tap Seac Square, where crowd control measures will be applied to the audience area from 4pm on that day. Public can access the square from the two entrances at Avenida de Sidónio Pais (near Hotel Estoril) or from those at Rua de Afonso de Albuquerque and Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida (in the direction to Tap Seac Square). Public should line up at the entrance to watch the closing ceremony. Admission is free. Due to the limited seats in the audience areas at the Tap Seac Square, public who line up at the entrance are allowed to enter the site until is the audience areas are full. Aside from Opening Ceremony and the Handover Celebration, the public can also watch performances along the Parade route by entering the audience area located at Rua de S. Paulo through Calçada do Amparo and Calçada do Embaixador or joining in other parts of the Parade route. Furthermore, to enhance the festive atmosphere and public participation, IC will distribute Parade-themed souvenirs to spread the joy across the city. The audience can get souvenirs from 2:30pm on the day of the Parade, from the Cultural Affairs Bureau service stations, respectively at Rua de D. Belchior Carneiro, St. Lazarus Square, next to the Art Exhibition Pavilion for The Youth at Tap Seac Square and outside the Macau Central Library at Tap Seac Square. For details, please visit the Parade website (www.icm.gov.mo/macaoparade) and page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/macaoparade).
