Macao aims to become global hub for performing arts

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) is establishing itself as a "city of performing arts" and top destination for large-scale events, as part of its strategy to diversify its economy.   Historically relying on the gaming industry to drive the economy, the small coastal region of just 33 square kilometers is now transforming into a hub for performing arts.   Throughout the year, the region's Cotai Strip hosts various concerts, performances and cultural events, drawing millions of spectators and boosting revenue across the hospitality, dining and retail sectors.   On Dec 7, over one hundred artists gathered in Macao to celebrate iconic moments from China's film and TV hits of 2024, drawing fans from near and far to witness this spectacular event and catch a glimpse of their idols.   "We are so excited! We came here just to see our idol. I hope he puts on more amazing performances," said a fan.   "It is very convenient. We took a taxi to the border, then a shuttle bus here," said another fan.     Macao is emerging as a regional powerhouse for live entertainment, hosting over 240 pop concerts in 2023 alone.   The Galaxy Arena, the biggest entertainment venue in Macao, along with several performance venues under Galaxy Entertainment, have hosted over 180 entertainment shows and five sports events since 2023, attracting over a million spectators worldwide.   "Macao is a very good city to host entertainment events. It is very flexible. We have an integrated resort, we have the largest arena, but also, we have all the hotels surrounding -- we have F and B (food and beverage), we have retail. This will provide a very good, one-stop experience for the audiences," said Jeffrey Jiang, Senior Vice President of Entertainment Services of Galaxy Entertainment.   This year's concerts have achieved record-breaking single-day arrivals, and these visitors also turn out to be the biggest spenders.   "We've done over 80 concerts this year, each concert is drawing over 10,000 in average audiences. Each of the visitors coming for the concert, by analysis, they spend 5,600 MOP (about 700 U.S. dollars), which is the highest across all the other visitors with other purposes, such as MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) events, or those that have just come for vacations," said Jiang.   Macao's strategy to diversify its revenue streams is paying off.   According to data from the SAR government, various arts and cultural events in 2023 recorded nearly 20 million participants. Concerts and other events hosted by integrated resort and leisure enterprises attracted an audience of one million, generating approximately 1.1 billion MOP (about 140 million U.S. dollars) in ticket sales.   "Cultural events, MICE events, exhibitions provide all those variety of the content experiences for our audiences and our customers," said Jiang.  

Macao aims to become global hub for performing arts

Heavy rains continued to hit central and southern China on Friday, causing multiple rivers to swell beyond warning levels and prompting rescue efforts to save stranded residents.

Shimen County in central China's Hunan Province has entered a critical period for flood control following days of persistent downpours. With a high risk of secondary disasters such as mountain torrents, landslides, and mudslides, local authorities have transferred all trapped residents to safety and imposed traffic controls on affected roads.

Torrential rains also triggered flooding across south China's Guangdong Province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and east China's Jiangxi Province. From Thursday to Friday, 15 rivers exceeded warning levels, with the highest water level reaching 1.51 meters above the warning line. Most of these waterways have now receded below their alert levels.

Fangchenggang City, Guangxi, saw the sudden onslaught of continuous heavy rain, which caused severe urban waterlogging across multiple regions. Rising river waters trapped 15 residents in Baisha Village of Gangkou District. Local fire rescue teams rushed to the scene immediately and successfully evacuated all the trapped people in batches to safe areas.

In Yangjiang City, Guangdong Province, the Moyang River experienced its second flood peak on Friday morning, hitting 6.82 meters, which was 0.02 meters above the warning level. By Friday noon, the water level had dropped to 6.7 meters. Large and medium-sized reservoirs in Yangjiang have cumulatively intercepted over 100 million cubic meters of floodwater, easing flood control pressure downstream.

The widespread rainfall has also extended to parts of east and north China.

On Friday, heavy to torrential rains hit parts of east China's Anhui, Jiangxi, central China's Hunan, Hubei and southwest China's Sichuan provinces, with extremely heavy rain recorded in some areas of Xiangtan and Changsha in Hunan Province.

According to China's National Meteorological Center (NMC), a new round of heavy rainfall will also start to develop from northwest China's Shaanxi, central China's Henan and Hubei provinces on Saturday.

The NMC continued to issue a blue rainstorm alert on Saturday, marking the 12th consecutive day of rainstorm warnings since May 12.

Flood rescue operations intensify as heavy rain hits multiple regions in China