Group photo with the guests, two illustrators and representatives of participating groups.
In celebration of the 16th anniversary of Macao’s handover to China and the 10th Anniversary of the Historic Centre of Macao as World Heritage, the “Parade through Macao, Latin City”, will take place on 6 December, Sunday, with “An Annual Celebration for the Entire City - VIVA” as motto again and “Fantastic VIVA Treasure Hunt Adventure” as theme. VIVA will lead the public into a fantastic adventure, uncovering three mysterious treasures and promoting the ideals of “Peace, Love and Cultural Integration”, celebrating the handover together. Set off from the Ruins of St. Paul's on a fantastic adventure This year's Parade uses a treasure hunt as the story background. VIVA leads the bravest citizens of the town and abroad and follows the clues provided in a treasure map to uncover its secrets and conquer a mysterious energy. The Parade includes new decorations and creative characters in three secret areas: in the “Party Gathering” at the Ruins of St. Paul's, VIVA sets off on his treasure hunt and meets several huge creatures in the ocean kingdom; “Mysterious Energy”, starting from Rua de S. Paulo, where you can find the guidance of the clever “Lord KISS”; and the area between Calçada da Igreja de São Lázaro and Tap Seac Square is the final destination, where thousands of “crazy” bacteria abound. At Tap Seac Square, VIVA finally discovers the hidden treasures of “Peace, Love and Cultural Integration”, celebrating the handover in unison with the audience. The Parade’s opening ceremony takes place at 4pm at Largo da Companhia de Jesus. Together with the performing groups from Latin-speaking countries and other foreign regions, local talents begin an extraordinary treasure hunt journey. The route is same as last year’s, beginning from the Ruins of St. Paul's and proceeding to Rua de S. Paulo, the Travessa da Paixão, Largo de Santo António, 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 São Roque, Rua Nova de São Lázaro, St. Lazarus Square, Rua do Volong, Rua do Tap Siac, Rua de Afonso de Albuquerque, and coming to final destination at 5:30pm at Tap Seac Square to celebrate the handover with a festive and carnival atmosphere. This year, the organizer will set up two ascending seating areas at Tap Seac Square for the audience, so the public can watch the performances clearly and comfortably. At Rua de D. Belchior Carneiro and Rua de Sanches de Miranda “face painting workshops” will be set up for the public to get their faces painted, thereby contributing to an even greater festive atmosphere. Live broadcast of excerpts of the Parade and related activities The parade is one of the major events in celebration of Macao’s handover to China and has already become one of the city’s trademark festive events since its first edition in 2011. Excerpts of the event are broadcast on TV channels from Hong Kong, thereby increasing reputation of the Parade. TDM, Teledifusão de Macau S.A., will have the live broadcast of the entire event and outdoor screens will be installed at several locations – Senado Square, Rotunda de Carlos da Maia, Areia Preta Garden and Rua de D. Belchior Carneiro. The popular Hong Kong TVB programme ‘Scoop’ will feature a foretaste of the event on 4 and 14 December , as well as a Parade Special Programme dedicated to the event’s highlights, to be broadcasted on 15 December. The Parade further features a series of related activities, including a photography contest and social media games with prizes. They will be progressively announced and will be open for the public to participate. On Parade day, crowd entry and exit control mechanisms will be implemented and some streets will be temporarily closed to traffic. The public is thus advised to walk to the parade venues on foot or use public transportation. In order to ensure public safety, use of unmanned aerial devices will not be refrained. The Parade is organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau and is co-organized by the Macao Government Tourist Office, the Macao Sport Development Board, the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, the Public Security Police Force, the Transport Bureau, the Fire Services Bureau, the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau of Macao and the Macao Association for the Promotion of Exchange between Asia-Pacific and Latin America. The Cultural Affairs Bureau also receives the support from the Macao General Union of Neighbourhood Associations, the Macao Sam Pa Mun Residents Mutual Aid Association, the Macao Soi Ho Cheok Residents Mutual Aid Association, as well as VIVA Ambassadors supporters, namely the Bank of China Macau Branch Volunteers Association, the Macau Flying Eagles Association, the Macao Community Youth Volunteers Development Association, General Volunteers Association of Macao, the Scout Association of Macau, and the Association of Volunteers Social Service Macao. In addition, this edition is also fully supported by Air Macau Co, Ltd. In addition, TDM - Teledifusão de Macau S.A. is serving as the designated television broadcaster. The Press Conference of the “Parade through Macao, Latin City” was held by the Cultural Affairs Bureau on 5 November, 3pm, at Tourism Activities Centre, 2nd floor, Congress Hall. The Press Conference was attended by the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Ung Vai Meng; Vice President of the Macao Sport Development Board, Lau Cho Un; Vice-Presidents of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Leung Hio Ming and Chan Peng Fai; Head of the Tourism Product and Events Department of the Macau Government Tourism Office, Doris Leong; Head of the Department of Cultural Activities and Recreation of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, Choi Chi Hong; Chief of the Department of Youth of the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau, Un Hoi Cheng; Principal Chief of the Fire Services Bureau, Wong Kin; President of the Macao Association for the Promotion of Exchange Between Asia-Pacific and Latin America, Gary Ngai Mei Cheong; Chief of the Cultural Activities Department of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Kent Ieong Chi Kin; Acting Chief of the Department for the Promotion of Cultural and Creative Industries of Cultural Affairs Bureau, Frankie Ho Ka Weng; Head of the Operations and Communication Division of the Public Security Police Force, Cheong Ieng Son; Head of the Coordination Division of the Transport Bureau, Mok Soi Tou; Chief of the Special Projects Division of Cultural Affairs Bureau, Boyce Lam Chon Keong; General Manager of the Public Relations Division of Air Macau Co. Ltd, Zhao Hong; Manager of the Social, Cultural and Economic Programming Division of TDM - Teledifusão de Macau S.A., Yip Kuok Va; Vice-President of the Macao General Union of Neighborhoods Association, Lei Cheok Kuan; President of the Macao Soi Ho Cheok Residents Mutual Aid Association, Lei Vai Man; President of the Macao Sam Pa Mun Residents Mutual Aid Association, Che Mei Leng, together with two local illustrators Eric Fok Hoi Seng and Un Chi Wai, and the representatives of participating groups in the parade this year.
