Cultural Exchange Night Well Received 29-10-2007

The 2nd Asian Indoor Games Cultural Exchange Night, held at the Roman Amphitheatre of the Macau Fisherman’s Wharf yesterday, was attended by nearly 2,000 citizens, tourists, athletes and guests. The unique culture of east meets west in Macao is illustrated not only by martial arts performance in the evening show, but also by “Tuna” – a musical band from Portugal. Other performance sections like Vietnamese traditional folk dance and music, Qatar traditional dance and BMX all lead the general public to have a brief understanding of different cultures.

More than an occasion for competing, sporting event is a considered a good opportunity for cultural exchange. As the general practice in the Olympic Movement, sporting events of large size usually include cultural exchange program during the games period, allowing sharing of traditional cultures and enhancing of friendship among the participating countries and regions. As such, cultural events are both a way to illustrate the charms of the host city of Macao, and a way to promote the indoor games.

The cultural program is compose of the performances presented by the Vietnam National Theatre of Song Dance & Music, Guangdong Wushu Team, Student Musical Band “Tuna” from Catholic University of Porto Portugal, the Supreme Council of Culture & Arts and 8-times world champion of trial bike Kenny Belaey, labelled as “Trial Biking Magician”. All have gained a lot of applause from the general public.

Apart from the Cultural Exchange Night, MAIGOC will continue to present various cultural vents at the Macau Fisherman’s Wharf until November 2, open for free admission, such as demonstration of Chinese calligraphy, Chinese fortune-telling, exhibition of Portuguese ceramic tiles, ride of pedicab, Portuguese folk dance and Chinese traditional music, through which the local citizens, tourists and athletes can explore the beauty that brought about by the blending of eastern and western cultures.