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CULTURE AND SPORT Culture and Sport Culture and Sport Eastern and western cultures have co-existed in Macao for over 400 years. A wide variety of cultural traditions, languages, values, religious beliefs, and customs have all existed side by side and influenced one another. Out of this melting pot, a regional culture unique to Macao has gradually developed into its present richness. Macao’s culture is thus a diverse mixture, with traditional Chinese culture as its heart, and it has assimilated Western, particularly Portuguese, cultural influences in perfect harmony. Following its policy of promoting Chinese culture while preserving the unique pluralistic cultural heritage of Macao, the Government has hosted various cultural and artistic activities invited art troupes from mainland China and overseas, as well as Macao, to perform. These have created opportunities for audiences to learn more about the history, society, and culture of different regions, as well as enhancing cultural exchange and the quality of cultural life of Macao’s residents. Cultural Affairs Bureau The Cultural Affairs Bureau is a Government department that sets out the Government’s key objectives in cultural matters. The bureau is responsible for protecting cultural heritage, giving guidance on aesthetic appreciation, supporting community organisations, nurturing talent in arts and culture, developing local cultural industries, as well as organising cultural entertainment programmes, such as concerts, exhibitions, seminars, music classes, dance, drama courses, “Parade through Macao, Latin City”, Macao International Music Festival, Macao Arts Festival, China Cultural Heritage Day, Macao Youth Music Competition and Macao Annual Visual Arts Exhibition. It also provides subsidies for different cultural and art programmes as well as bursaries to support the publication of research and advanced studies about arts. Cultural and Creative Industries In 2010, the bureau established the Department for the Promotion of Cultural and Creative Industries, to proactively promote cultural and creative industries and so boost their development – including through promoting and exhibiting cultural and creative products; conducting studies of the cultural and creative industries; formulating a policy framework and measures for the development of the cultural and creative industries; and collecting information on local cultural and creative industries. At present, information in the database is used in business matching, and selecting cultural and creative institutions and companies to participate in local and overseas activities and fairs, to foster Macao’s culture and creativity. In 2014, the bureau launched the 2014 Subsidy Programme for the Production of Original Song Albums and Macao Cultural and Creative Map. Cultural Industry Fund The Cultural Industry Fund was established according to the Law No. 26/2013 of the MSAR, 305 Macao Yearbook 2015 supervised by the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture. The aim of the fund is to support cultural industry development projects in Macao and promote adequate economic diversification. The principle for funding approval is to aim for projects supported mainly by investments from enterprises, and, supplemented by the fund. The targets for the subsidy include commercial enterprises established according to law, and registered under the Financial Services Bureau subject to taxation; if the commercial entity is a natural person, then the person shall be a Macao resident; if the commercial entity is a legal person, more than 50 percent of capital of the legal person should be owned by a Macao resident. The 25th Macao Arts Festival The 25th Macao Arts Festival was held from 2 May to 8 June and featured 30 programmes with over 200 performances and art activities, including two visual art exhibitions. More than 19,076 tickets were sold, representing a take-up of 88.5 percent. More than half of the programmes were locally produced. Incoming programmes were from mainland China, Hong Kong, Portugal, Japan, Argentina, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Singapore, spanning contemporary dance, Cantonese opera, light and shadow art, and photography exhibition. Enjoyed by connoisseurs and the general public alike, the programmes were staged in various World Heritage sites and performance venues in Macao. During the year, more than half of the programmes were local original productions. To showcase local talents, the organiser invited a number of Macao art troupes to perform in the Macao Arts Festival Silver Jubilee Opening Concert, and the closing event “A Dream of Light”. Other Macao-produced programmes included a dance production, “Revival”; a theatre production, “Venetian Wants to Buy a House”; family theatre “Rain of Stone, Song of the Sea”; intangible cultural heritage “Cantonese Opera Beauty Fades from the Twelve Ladies' Bower”; and Macanese theatre “Vivo na Unde”. The two exhibitions were Collotype Recurrence – Spatial Convergence of John Thomson and Wong Ho Sang, and Macao Annual Visual Arts Exhibition 2014. The 28th Macao International Music Festival The 28th Macao International Music Festival was held from 3 October to 1 November, with a total of 25 programmes. In all, 16,436 tickets were sold – 93 percent - of the total available. Performing groups from Italy, the United States, Russia, Portugal, Poland, Canada, mainland China, Taiwan and Macao staged performances comprising a musical extravaganza of exceptional quality. For this year, the music festival invited Teatro Regio Torino from Italy to stage a production of the two-act opera “Norma” by Vincenzo Bellini. The longstanding Teatro Comunale di Bologna, with rich musical history and production experience, produced two Intermezzi of Giovanni Battista Martini, “Don Chisciotte” and “Maestro di Musica”. Other performers included the world-famous Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra from Russia, I Musici from Italy, Canadian Brass, distinguished vocal artist Laurie Anderson, and Dominic Miller, who took part in the album production and tour of renowned singer Sting. 306 Culture and Sport In addition, the festival invited singer George Lam, a household name in Hong Kong, to perform with the Macao Chinese Orchestra. The festival closed with the moving and inspiring Broadway musical, “Hairspray”. Parade through Macao, Latin City In 2011, the Cultural Affairs Bureau started organising the Parade through Macao, Latin City, to celebrate the anniversary of Macao’s Handover and showcase the unique charm of Macao’s World Heritage Sites, particularly the Latin city district. The parade aims to promote the image of Macao as an international tourism city, and help create a world tourism and leisure centre. The numbers of participating teams and audience have increased over the years. Every year, approximately 2,000 artists of various disciplines participate in the parade. The 2014 event was enjoyed by about 50,000 spectators, adding harmony to society and colour to the city’s tourism. The parade has become an iconic celebration activity in Macao. In 2014, an audience of over 100,000 participated in the parade, or watched the live television broadcast and large screen live broadcasts in five communities. Macao Orchestra The Macao Orchestra is a professional ensemble under the Cultural Affairs Bureau. Since September 2003, the orchestra has performed several concert series in every season, presenting both Western and Chinese masterpieces in a comprehensive and systematic way, and organised art education activities to promote classical music to audiences of different age groups. The education and community outreach activities launched in recent years are highly popular among students and the younger generation, creating a rich musical life for Macao. In June and July 2014, the orchestra toured Tibet and Taiwan, completing its 13th concert tour in China in ten years. It became the first orchestra to tour around the whole country, establishing a proud milestone. In 2014, the orchestra performed 60 concerts in Macao, mainland China and Taiwan, for audiences totalling 20,000 persons. Macao Chinese Orchestra The Macao Chinese Orchestra is a professional Chinese orchestra under the Cultural Affairs Bureau. In 2014, it performed 55 concerts with various themes, for audiences totalling 19,071 persons. Macao Youth Music Competition The 32nd Macao Youth Music Competition was held from 14 June to 11 July at the Dom Pedro V Theatre and the Handover Gifts Museum of Macao. A total of 47 contests for solo Chinese and western instruments, Chinese and western orchestras, solo voice, and choirs were held in 56 categories. The results of the preliminary competitions were announced right after the end of the contest for each category. The grand final was held in the Dom Pedro V Theatre between 13 and 307 Macao Yearbook 2015 15 July, with three contests to select the First, Second and Third Prizes at elementary, intermediate and advanced levels, the Best Ensemble Performance Prize, and the Cultural Affairs Bureau Prize. The competition received 745 applications; there were 1,012 contestants and 3,245 spectators. Visual Arts Exhibition The Visual Arts Exhibition organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau aims to showcase outstanding art from around the world, stimulate creativity among Macao artists, enable public appreciation of various types of visual artworks, and promote arts exchanges. Cultural Information Platform The website of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (www.icm.gov.mo) and mobile site (m.icm.gov.mo)