Delivering a keynote speech during the opening ceremony of the 3rd ArtBiz Asia Forum at The Venetian Macao, Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) President Leong Wai Man said yesterday that the number of people attending large-scale performances and concerts held by the city’s six integrated resorts (IRs) last year reached one million, generating about 1.1 billion patacas at the box office, which showed that Macau has a large cultural consumption market.
The third edition of the forum, was held in collaboration with the the three-day Asian IR Expo. The latter kicked off on Tuesday and ends today, covering conferences and summits with over 30 sessions with more than 100 speakers, along with panel discussions and networking sessions, among others.
During her speech, Leong noted that there were 2,000 large-scale performances and concerts organised by the government and private entities last year, with a total of over 10,000 performances of various arts and cultural activities and close to 20 million spectators.
“The cultural and creative industry is an important component of the ‘1+4’ economic development”, Leong said, pointing out that the government has formulated a series of strategies to promote the “City of Performing Arts”, with a view to leveraging on the cross-sector linkage and multiplier effect to create a brand-new cultural name card for the city.
“The bureau also hopes that local performing arts activities can boost the city’s cultural tourism,” Leong underlined.
In addition, Leong also mentioned that the government will launch a new round of “Commissioning Performing Arts Productions 2024-2026”, hoping to create more local iconic artistic and cultural performances.
Leong noted that as of this year, a total of 30 projects in Macau have been shortlisted for funding under the China National Arts Fund (CNAF), adding that the government launched a matching funding scheme last year to support a total of 11 projects funded by the fund, while some performances have been invited to be staged in various places in the mainland.
Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) President Leong Wai Man addresses yesterday’s ArtBiz Asia Forum at The Venetian Macao in Cotai. – Photo courtesy of TDM
