The “2018 Macao International Parade”, organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym), in celebration of the 19th anniversary of Macao’s handover to China, will be held on 16 December. In order to publicise the details of the event close by members of the public that live along the Parade’s route, IC sent members of its staff to local neighbourhoods on 5 December in order to promote the event, establishing contact with the residents in advance and creating great expectation about the great event all around the city.
IC sent staff in small groups to the streets along the Parade route in order to distribute pamphlets to residents and merchants, providing information about the event, a map with the Parade’s route as well as information about traffic arrangements. The staff also distributed promotional materials to residents and tourists, further promoting this large-scale cultural brand in Macao. The “Macao International Parade”, now in its eighth edition, has become one of the city’s annual events celebrating Macao’s handover to China, contributing to create Macao’s image as a cultural city. The Parade is highly acclaimed and receives the enthusiastic support of local and overseas audiences every year.
In addition, this year’s Parade specially hosts a number of community workshops, in order to provide more opportunities for the public to participate and interact with the participating groups. The workshops “Circus Tricks”, conducted by Lívia Mattos from Brazil, will be held on 10 and 11 December, from 8pm to 9:30pm, at the Old Court Building. The artist will share her circus tricks and secret skills on musical creation in English (with translation in Cantonese). Interested parties can register through the “Activity Registration System” on the IC’s website at www.icm.gov.mo/eform/event, subject to availability.
The Parade adopts the same route as last year and will start with an extraordinary opening ceremony to be held at the Ruins of St. Paul’s on 16 December, at 3pm, after which the local and foreign participating groups will pass through Rua de S. Paulo, Senado Square, Cathedral Square, and Avenida da Praia Grande, offering excellent performances at Avenida Panorâmica do Lago Nam Van. Finally, they will arrive at Sai Van Lake Square at 6:30pm to celebrate the Handover. Giant balloons of various mythological and folklore figures will appear in the sky, while spectacular fireworks will be set up at the Macao Tower.
For more information about the Parade, please visit the Parade’s website at www.icm.gov.mo/macaoparade.