“Macao Light Festival 2020 – Light Carnival” is slated to light up the cityscape from 26 September to 31 October. Residents and visitors can enjoy the city’s splendor sparked by a confluence of light installations, projection mapping shows and interactive games along four designated routes across different parishes on Macao Peninsula and Taipa. In this sixth edition, the Macao Light Festival will stage a mega mapping show at Tap Seac Square for the first time against a backdrop of four historic architectures, weaving mapping projections and music into a unique enchanting experience for all.
The organizer Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) co-held a press conference to unveil the event program today (17 September) together with co-organizers as follows: Municipal Affairs Bureau, Cultural Affairs Bureau, Sports Bureau and Economic Bureau, as well as supporting entities including the Industry and Commerce Federation of Macau Central and Southern District, the Industry and Commerce Association of Macau Northern District, as well as the Industry and Commerce Federation of Islands of Macao.
MGTO Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, President of Cultural Affairs Bureau, Mok Ian Ian, MGTO Deputy Director Cheng Wai Tong, Acting Deputy Director of MGTO, Jennifer Si Tou, Head of Department of Cultural and Recreational Affairs and Civic Education of Municipal Affairs Bureau, Patsy Ko Pui San, and Head of Sports Facilities Management Department of Sports Bureau, Ho Wa, were present in the press conference among other guests.
In her remarks, Director Senna Fernandes expressed that MGTO has poured great efforts to keep optimizing the event program since the launch of the Festival, hoping to surprise residents and visitors with an awe-inspiring extravaganza of light each year. Owing to the pandemic, a string of mega events was canceled or postponed this year. As the situation gradually stabilizes, MGTO is gearing up for event rearrangements. The Macao Light Festival, originally held each December, is now scheduled earlier to unveil in late September as a warm-up highlight to welcome visitors once again. The Festival will feature Tap Seac Square as a new major venue for mapping shows this year, offering wider creative potentials for the local team to tap into. A series of community outreach programs will be co-launched, which include light events held by local community organizations to infuse the Festival with the vibrant color of local communities. Businesses in the communities involved are driven by the community organizations to participate, which will inject a new impetus to the revival of the communities’ economy.
Four routes across Macao Peninsula and Taipa
MAK MAK appears anew at different landmarks
The 6th Macao Light Festival will be staged from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. from 26 September to 31 October. (the last projection mapping show will begin at 9:50 p.m. daily). Themed as “Light Carnival”, the Festival will present light installations and interactive games at 12 locations along four designated routes themed as “Circus”, “Time Tunnel”, “Candy Kingdom” and “Music Box of Lights” in different parishes. There will be a range of hotspots for selfies and check-ins on social media. Macao Tourism Mascot MAK MAK will appear across the routes in different costumes such as donut and chocolate, accompanying residents and visitors on the fun “Light Carnival” journey.
- “Circus” at Our Lady of Fatima Parish: the route will connect Leisure Area in Rua do General Ivens Ferraz, Macau (Yat Yuen) Canidrome and Areia Preta Urban Park. A huge 27-meter-long canopy will be raised at Leisure Area in Rua do General Ivens Ferraz, where AR interactive games and illuminations in animal patterns will be installed to recreate circus carnival experience for audiences. They can also check in at the “Pirate Ship” or enjoy the “Circus Show” in Areia Preta Urban Park.
- “Time Tunnel” at St. Lazarus Parish and St. Anthony Parish: the route will weave Tap Seac Square, Calçada do Amparo, Pátio de Chôn Sau, Rua de Nossa Senhora do Amparo, Rua dos Ervanários and Largo do Pagode do Bazar into a magical corridor for time travel.
- “Candy Kingdom” in Nam Van and Sai Van Districts: Colorful illuminations resembling sweet delights such as “Rainbow Rings” and “Refreshing Iced Drink” will dazzle Nam Van Lake Nautical Centre and Anim’Arte Nam Van, filling the districts with sweetness in the air.
- “Music Box of Lights” at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish: “Amazing Escada do Coxo”, “Musical Stairs” and more light installations, along with the mapping show “Musical Piano” at the restaurant Cozinha Pinocchio Taipa at Taipa Village, will give audiences an unparalleled splendid feast for the eyes.
Mega mapping show will dazzle Tap Seac Square for the first time
The upcoming Macao Light Festival will stage mapping shows at five iconic attractions. Among them, a spectacular mapping show will dazzle Tap Seac Square for the first time. Under the theme “Color is…”, the show will be projected upon the facades of four historic architectures including the buildings of Cultural Affairs Bureau, Tap Seac Health Centre, Macao Central Library and the Archives of Macao. Painting strokes of light upon the magnificent canvas, the show will convey various expressions of color in different styles of artworks.
Mapping shows will be staged at Macau (Yat Yuen) Canidrome and the restaurant Cozinha Pinocchio Taipa at Largo dos Bombeiros in Taipa Village as in the past. Two other new venues will be added, including China Products Company at Largo do Pagode do Bazar and Wong Ieng Kuan Children’s Library in Areia Preta Urban Park. The mapping show at China Products Company will be reminiscent of Macao’s culture from the old days.
Community light events add vibrant color to the Festival
An array of light events will be held in local communities in tandem with the Macao Light Festival this year. The Industry and Commerce Federation of Macau Central and Southern District, the Industry and Commerce Association of Macau Northern District, as well as the Industry and Commerce Federation of Islands of Macao will concurrently stage “Macao Light Festival 2020 — Light and Color at Cathedral Parish”, “Macao Light Festival 2020 — Fun Journey of Light at Our Lady of Fatima Parish” and “Macao Light Festival 2020 — ‘Light extravaganza on Coloane’ at Parish of St. Francis Xavier” respectively. The events will encompass light installations, workshops, interactive games and performances, along with time-limited offers and giveaways from the Festival.
Opening ceremony on 26 September
Macao Light Festival 2020 will be unveiled with an opening ceremony at Tap Seac Square in the evening of 26 September, welcoming residents and visitors to join. For more information about Macao Light Festival 2020, please visit MGTO’s website for “Macao Light Festival 2020 – Light Carnival” (mlf.macaotourism.gov.mo), and MGTO’s WeChat ID (“mgtoweixin”).
With the approach of the Macao Light Festival, MGTO will pay close attention to the latest situation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, while making timely and proper arrangements for all the shows and activities in accord with the guidelines issued by Health Bureau. In case of adverse weather conditions, appropriate adjustments will be made to the event program.
