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 allow residents and tourists to experience the charm of Parade in advance, performing groups from different countries and regions will continue to present an array of outreach performances from 12 to 15 December. Admission is free. All residents and tourists are welcome to experience the festive atmosphere of the event.
This week, the outreach performances of the Parade feature three award-winning living statue artists from different countries, who will appear in various community venues from 12 to 15 December, at 12:30pm, for four consecutive days. In particular, Theatre Troupe Getdol from South Korea will present Sister Okdan from the small town of Mokpo, singing and dancing on 13 December at 5:30pm, at the Rotunda de Carlos da Maia; on 14 December at 12:30pm, strolling from the Ruins of St. Paul’s to Jorge Álvares Square; and on 15 December from3:30pm to 4:30pm, at the Camões Garden, respectively.
There will be other enthralling performances certainly not to be missed. On 13 December from 8pm to 9pm, art groups from Brazil, Colombia, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and China (Guizhou) will gather at the Iao Hon Garden to present a “Fantasy Night of Music and Dance”. On 14 December at 12:30pm, the Lívia Mattos Circus Show from Brazil, the Crazy Clowns from Spain and the Russian Circus from Russia will unleash the power of laughter and spend a relaxing and pleasant noon time with the public at Jorge Álvares Square; from 5pm to 6pm, funny clowns and circus artists from Brazil, Spain and Russia, a huge ethereal music box from Italy, Pingyuan boat lanterns from Meizhou, Guangdong and Lusheng dance from Congjiang, Guizhou, included in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of China, will be staged at the “City Art Surprise” at the Largo de S. Domingos. From 9pm to 9:30pm, the art troupe White Horse from France, who have performed in many world tours, will turn into a large herd of white horses at the Barra Square under a romantic ambience with music and light. On 15 December from 2pm to 3pm, Batucada Aainjaa from Colombia and Ryukyukoku Matsuri Daiko from Japan will engage in the performance “The Power of Drums” at Anim’Arte NAM VAN, presenting the cultures and arts of different countries.
The Macao International Parade is one of the major events celebrating Macao's handover to China. This year the Parade features 76 performing groups and a total of over 1,700 artists who will present to residents and tourists a culturally rich Handover celebration on 16 December. For more information about the Parade, please visit www.icm.gov.mo/macaoparade or follow the “Macao International Parade” page on Facebook and IC’s WeChat account “ICmacao”.