Leong Wai Man, the director of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, delivered the keynote address on the second day of the Asian IR Summit 2024 this morning, on the topic of Macao’s evolution into a “city of performing arts” as well as the territory’s economic diversification.
She highlighted Macao’s need to take advantage of cultural events by noting that “the data shows that in 2023, there was a significant increase in the amount of mainland [Chinese] visitors attending concerts and taking part in art-related events” compared to 2019.
Leong said that her department planned to use various art-related events to further expand and develop Macao’s cultural heritage and also mentioned the government’s cooperation with the six concessionaires in the area of art, culture and gastronomy.
She pointed out that large-scale concerts staged by Macao’s integrated resorts attracted a million audience members and saw a box office revenue of 1.1. billion patacas (US$136. 9 million) in 2023 alone.
[See more: Macao will mark its Culture City status with an array of major events]
The bureau has been experimenting with new events, including the inaugural Macao International Comedy Festival and the Macao International Short Film Festival, which were both held earlier this year. “In order to further strengthen our cultural events, we have [also] organised activities around Macao…including Fado concerts, which took place over the course of several consecutive months,” Leong said.
She added that the government had developed new performing arts facilities – such as the Macao Cultural Centre Black Box Theatre, which opened on 3 July last year – and launched the Enjoy Macao platform, which allows users to find the latest information regarding cultural events in the SAR.
The Asian IR Summit is currently taking place alongside the Global Gaming Expo Asia (G2E Asia 2024) in the Cotai Expo at the Venetian, with both events scheduled to conclude tomorrow.
Debuting last year, the Asian IR Summit is centred around the non-gambling operations of the integrated resorts sector, unlike the G2E Asia summit, which focuses on the gambling industry. Over 8,000 participants are expected to attend the two events during their three-day run.
