The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) announced on Tuesday that it will host a festival entitled “Celebrating the 15th Anniversary of the Inscription of the Historic Centre of Macao on the World Heritage List” on Saturday and Sunday, from 10:30 am to 6 pm, at the “World Heritage Youth Education Base” consisting of the Mandarin’s House and Largo do Lilau.
The Historic Centre of Macao was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on 15 July 2005, when it became the nation’s 31st World Heritage site.
The opening ceremony will be held on Saturday at 11 am at the Mandarin’s House.
“The festival features a great variety of activities such as singing and dance performances, special game booths, thematic exhibitions, workshops, and the sale of cultural and creative products,” the statement said, pointing out that admission is free and “all are welcome to join”.
Supported by the bureau, the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and a string of cultural heritage associations, the festival aims to provide information about the Historic Centre of Macao “in an interactive and interesting way,” the statement said.
Prizes, souvenirs, publications
Participants can win prizes, such as postcards and facemask cases, which are limited and will be available while stocks last. A number of booths with cultural and creative products will also be available, with souvenirs, comics and animation products, as well as publications themed around the cultural heritage of Macao aimed at promoting local creativity, the statement noted.
Various other programmes will also be presented, such as a lion dance, Cantonese opera performances, Portuguese folk dance and thematic exhibition boards about the “Historic Centre of Macao”, allowing the public to gain a better understanding of the city’s cultural heritage and cultural heritage protection, from different perspectives, the statement said.
During the festival, free bus services will be available, setting off from Iao Hon Municipal Market and Taipa Central Park to the Mandarin’s House every hour, from 11 am to 4 pm.
In addition to the festival, the bureau will also hold a number of activities connected with this month’s “World Heritage Open Day”, sharing with the public facts about the Historic Centre of Macao, through visual experiences, the statement said.
Registrations for the activities “Ascent to the Guia Lighthouse” and “Secret Magic Circle of the Senado Library” will also be available at the festival venue. The WeChat game – “I am a Cultural Heritage Expert” – will close on July 31, offering participants the chance to win prizes. Admission to the activities of the “World Heritage Open Day” is free, the statement underlined.
The “Activities in Celebration of the 15th Anniversary of the Inscription of the Historic Centre of Macao on the World Heritage List” are organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, with the support of MGTO, the Kaiping Municipal People’s Government, Air Macau and Bank of China (Macau Branch).
Kaiping is a city some 90 kilometres north-west of Macao in Guangdong province.
To ensure the participants’ health, the bureau will implement a raft of measures in line with the anti-COVID-19 guidelines of the Health Bureau (SSM), such as strengthening cleaning and sanitisation at the venue.
All participants must wear facemasks, undergo temperature checks, present their “Macao Health Code” of the day and follow crowd control measures on site, including admission being restricted to a maximum of 100 visitors to the Mandarin’s House and a maximum of 30 visitors in each indoor space, simultaneously. The activities may be adjusted based on the pandemic situation, the statement said.
More information about the festival’s programme and event’s various activities is available on the official website at www.icm.gov.mo/mhd15. Members of the public may also phone 8590 4382 or 8590 4329 during office hours for further details.
(The Macau Post Daily/Macau News)
