Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Tam Chon Weng, meets the press.
This year’s Macau Grand Prix would include more input from the city’s cultural and creative industries, including the production of souvenirs designed locally. This is in order to enhance the promotion of the annual event, and better to integrate Macao’s sports, cultural and tourism sectors. The information was disclosed on Monday (14 March) by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Tam Chon Weng, prior to the first plenary session of the revamped Macau Grand Prix Organising Committee. The Committee has been created in its updated form to coordinate cross-departmental efforts within the Government regarding the staging of the Macau Grand Prix, according to an Executive Order published on Monday. The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture heads the Committee; the President and Vice-presidents of Macao’s Sports Bureau are the coordinator and deputy coordinators of the Committee respectively. The Committee also has representatives from a range of public bodies, including the Macao Government Tourism Office, the Health Bureau, the Unitary Police Service and the Fire Services Bureau. The updated structure of the organising body – which involves the Sports Bureau taking the lead on planning and delivering the event from this year onward – would take the Grand Prix to a new level of achievement, the Secretary said. Mr Tam also told reporters that the Government was working on the expansion of the city’s Grand Prix Museum, with the aim of completing the work in two or three years. The museum improvements are part of the Government’s effort to refresh Macao’s existing attractions and to create new ones in order to widen the appeal of the city for visitors, added Mr Tam. The 63rd Macau Grand Prix will be held from 17 November (Thursday) to 20 November (Sunday) inclusive.