The Macau Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) announced today that the 31st Macau Arts Festival (FAM) slated for May will be postponed to next year.
According to an IC statement, the decision to postpone the annual festival by a year was taken "after a careful evaluation of the risks of the [COVID-19] epidemic."
The statement noted that the bureau "has been closely monitoring the progression of the epidemic. At present, the situation of the epidemic keeps on changing and the prevention and control work in Macau is still at an important stage."
The statement pointed out that about half of the festival's programmes involve participants from outside Macau, adding that the rehearsals of local art groups scheduled from last month have also been affected by the epidemic.
"There are many uncertain factors in the aspects of transport, logistics and rehearsals," said the statement, which underlined that the bureau decided to postpone the festival "in order to protect the health and safety of the spectators and performers."
A string of commercial and cultural events have been cancelled or postponed by private organisations and the government in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
