Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam Chon Weng said on Sunday that he estimated the budget for the city’s Wushu Grand Gathering to range between 10 million and 20 million patacas, adding that the exact figure will be announced by the Sports Bureau (ID) in the near future.
Tam made the remarks on the sidelines of the opening ceremony for the Healthy Life Education Centre in Areia Preta.
The four-day gathering will comprise of wushu performances and competitions, as well as dragon dance and lion dance tournaments. While the government has chosen Praça do Tap Seac and the nearby Tap Seac Multi-sports Pavilion as the event’s “main arenas”, some of its activities will be held elsewhere in the city.
The government said the event would not be a mere sporting event, but also a “carnival which everyone can participate in”, including sessions for residents and visitors to try their hands at wushu under the guidance of grand wushu masters.
Tam had said previously he wished to make the grand gathering an annual international sports event, similar to the Macau Grand Prix.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines on Sunday’s event, Tam said everything was going smoothly in preparation for the grand gathering in August.
Tam said he was told that the Sports Bureau had already invited masters from wushu schools in the mainland, such as Shaolin, adding that foreign wushu masters would also be taking part in the four-day event.
Asked by reporters about the budget for the event, Tam said he didn’t have the exact figure, but believed it to be around 10 to 20 million patacas. He quickly added that details of the Wushu Grand Gathering, including the budget, will be announced in a press conference by the Sports Bureau soon.
(Macau News / The Macau Post Daily)
