The “2017 Macao International Parade”, organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym) in celebration of the 18th anniversary of Macao’s handover to China, will be held on Sunday, 17 December 2017. This year, IC has once again joined hands with several local associations and organisations to recruit VIVA Ambassadors for providing assistance during the event. All VIVA Ambassadors declared their commitment to the event in an oath ceremony held on Saturday, 2 December 2017, at 3pm, at the Largo da Companhia de Jesus.
The oath ceremony was officiated by the Acting Chief of the Department for Promoting Cultural and Creative Industries of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Ho Hong Pan, the President of The Boys’ Brigade of Macau, Ian Kin Fu, the President of the General Volunteers Association of Macao, Fong Ka Kin, the Vice President of the Macao Community Youth Volunteers Development Association, Sou Weng Leong, the Vice President of the Association of Volunteers Social Service Macao, Lam Ka Chun and the Supervisor of the Bank of China Macau Branch Volunteers Association, Lee Shiu Man. After the oath ceremony, nearly 500 VIVA Ambassadors will attend training sessions, site inspections and rehearsals. During the Parade, they will be assigned different tasks including crowd control, the maintenance of public order and souvenir distribution, as well as assistance in the interaction between performers and the public. VIVA Ambassador’s participation is crucial to this event, ensuring the public enjoys the event in an orderly, safe and pleasurable manner.
The VIVA Ambassadors recruitment campaign has drawn immense support from the Bank of China Macau Branch Volunteers Association, the Macao Community Youth Volunteers Development Association, the General Volunteers Association of Macao, The Boys’ Brigade of Macau, The Scout Association of Macau and the Association of Volunteers Social Service Macao.
The “Macao International Parade” is one of the most important activities in celebration of Macao’s handover to China and it has become one of the city’s signature events since 2011. This year, the “2017 Macao International Parade” features a total of nearly 1,200 performers from 49 local and 15 foreign art groups. Through gleeful singing and dancing along the route, participants will demonstrate the appealing local and international cultures as well as the harmonious cultural integration. Furthermore, this year’s Parade offers a new route winding through a number of new landmarks, streets and squares, aiming to present the public with the city’s cultural elements from a brand new perspective. In order to ensure public safety, use of unmanned aerial devices will not be allowed during the Parade.