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
