The ‘Parade through Macao, Latin City’ will be held on 4 December, celebrating the handover with the public.
The ‘Parade through Macao, Latin City’, celebrating the 17th anniversary of Macao’s handover to China, will be held on Sunday, 4 December, with the motto “An Annual Celebration for the Entire City - VIVA” and themed “VIVA’s Adventures through Shan Hai”. VIVA will travel through a time gate and set off to the mysterious land of the Classic of Mountains and Seas (Shan Hai Jing), kicking off a fantastic adventure and taking part in the “Peace, Love and Cultural Integration” party, celebrating the handover together. Set off on a fantastic adventure through a new route This year the Parade takes the Classic of Mountains and Seas as its background. VIVA travels through extraordinary mountains and rivers, where he meets bizarre beasts that tell him amusing stories along the way. On the day of the Parade, VIVA crosses the time gate at 4pm at Largo da Companhia de Jesus, taking off from the Ruins of St. Paul’s, together with performing groups from Latin-speaking countries and other foreign regions as well as hundreds of local talents, on a journey that goes through Rua de S. Paulo, St. Anthony’s Square, 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 and Rua de Afonso de Albuquerque, arriving at its final destination at 5:30pm at Tap Siac Square to celebrate the handover in a festive and carnival atmosphere. Additionally, this year the Parade offers an alternative route: some performing groups will depart from Senado Square and march through Largo de S. Domingos, Rua de S. Domingos, Rua da Palha and Rua de S. Paulo, finally joining the remainder of the parade at the Ruins of St. Paul’s, thereby inviting even more participants to take part in the celebration of the handover. The Classic of Mountains and Seas is a popular Chinese ancient classic that records the geography of ancient times, the deities and beasts and bizarre myths, and is known as China’s oldest “encyclopaedia”. In his adventure, VIVA comes across numerous interesting friends. Additional activities contribute to the Parade’s festive atmosphere A series of activities will be rolled out in conjunction with the Parade, including rehearsals throughout the city, which offer a glimpse of the event. Before the Parade kicks off on 4 December, several mysterious creatures with painted faces will pop up along the route to colour the faces of the public. In addition, workshops, a photography contest and social media games with prizes will be progressively announced and open to the public’s participation. 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. The organizer has made arrangements with TV channels from Hong Kong to broadcast excerpts of the event, thereby increasing the reputation of the Parade. TDM – Teledifusão de Macau S.A. will broadcast the entire event live 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 2 and 15 December, as well as a Parade Special Programme dedicated to the event’s highlights on 17 December. On the day of the Parade, crowd control measures 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 allowed. The Parade is organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau and is co-organized by the Macao Government Tourism Office, the Sports Bureau, 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 from the VIVA Ambassadors supporters, namely the Bank of China Macau Branch Volunteers Association, the Macao Community Youth Volunteers Development Association, the General Volunteers Association of Macao, The Boys' Brigade, Macau, The Scout Association of Macau and the Association of Volunteers Social Service Macao. This edition is also fully supported by Air Macau Co, Ltd. TDM - Teledifusão de Macau S.A. is the designated live television broadcaster. The Press Conference of the ‘Parade through Macao, Latin City’ was held by the Cultural Affairs Bureau on 27 October, 12pm, at Tourism Activities Centre, 2nd floor, Congress Hall. The Press Conference was attended by the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Ung Vai Meng; the President of the Sport Bureau, Pun Weng Kun; the Deputy Commissioner of the Fire Services Bureau, Chao Ka Cheong; the Vice-President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Leung Hio Ming and Chan Peng Fai; the Chief of the Public Relations Division of the Macau Government Tourism Office, Christina, Lau Fong Chi; the Chief of the Department of Youth of the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau, Un Hoi Cheng; the Acting Chief and Deputy Commissioner of Traffic Department / Islands Traffic Branch of the Public Security Police Force, Sam Chi Nap; the President of the Macao Association for the Promotion of Exchange Between Asia-Pacific and Latin America, Gary Ngai Mei Cheong; the Chief of the Department of Cultural Events of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Kent Ieong Chi Kin; the Chief of the Department for the Promoting Cultural and Creative Industries of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Frankie Ho Ka Weng; the Chief of the Division of the Cultural Promotion of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Boyce Lam Chon Keong; the Chief of the Division of Recreational Activities of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Cheang Kai Meng; the General Manager of Marketing of Air Macau Co. Ltd, Ringo Chan; the Director of the Programmes and Production Division of TDM - Teledifusão de Macau S.A., Lok Kong; the Vice-President of the Macao General Union of Neighborhoods Associations, Che Mei Leng; the President of the Macao Soi Ho Cheok Residents Mutual Aid Association, Lei Vai Man; and the Executive Director of the Macao Sam Pa Mun Residents Mutual Aid Association, Felisberto Lao, and the representatives of participating groups in the parade this year.
