The 20th Macau International Fireworks Display Contest on 13, 14, 20, 27 and October 1 are a chance for you to enjoy both. There will be 2 free displays at 9pm and 10pm each lasting about 18 minutes.
It promises to be an aural and visual spectacle as sound systems will be in place at the waterfront in front of the Macau Tower Outdoor Plaza.
Professional teams from Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia and China will be on hand to ensure the celebrations kick off with a bang. The competition is known for bringing out the artistic and creative side of fireworks – last year, crowd favorites were fireworks which exploded into hearts and smiles, and lasted long enough for the crowd to take several photos.
Star performers this year include:
Tamaya Art Pyro Technics from Japan won the championship in the Macau International Fireworks Display Contest in 2004 and 2005. They perform more than 150 fireworks shows a year in China, the United States and Europe.
Macedo & Companhia Pirotecnia, Lda. of Portugal, who won the contest in 2000, was listed on the Guinness Book of World Records for launching the largest fireworks display consisting of 66,326 fireworks shells on December 31, 2006.
As 2 dates of the contest, September 14 and October 1 fall on Mid Autumn Festival and China’s National Day, it is a double cause for celebration.
As the fireworks display will take place at the sea area in front of the Macau Tower, in central Macau, you can chose to dine in restaurants within Macau Tower including:
However, if even if you can’t get high up, there are still alternatives which offer good views of the action. Many shutter bus set up tripods across the bridge in Taipa, or choose to seat down in Bee Vee restaurant (nearby Ocean Garden) Tel: +853 2881 2398.
To enjoy tasty local cuisine, and the fireworks, book an outdoor spot near Sai Van Lake, just across from the Macau Tower, where there are several famous restaurants offering Macanese and Portuguese specialties.
Ali’s Curry House Address: Avenida da Republica 4/K Tel: +853 2855 5865 Henri’s Gallery
Café Sai Wan On Kei Address: Pç Lobo Ávila 28A Tel: +853 2838 7108
Restaurant Tennis Civil Address: Avenida da Republica 14/1 Tel: +853 2830 1189
Another vantage point for those who want to have a cool drink and enjoy the fireworks is at one of the bars along the stretch known as the “Lan Kwai Fong” of Macau, near the Kun Iam Statue, where a sound system will be installed to synchronize with the fireworks action. Wong Chiu like: Moonwalker mp3
Casablanca Address: Dynasty Plaza
House Address: Dynasty Plaza
Fireworks Display Contest
Date:13, 14, 20, 27 & 01Oct08
Time: 9:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m.
Admission free
Venue: Sea area in front of Macau Tower
Organizer: Macau Government Tourist Office
Telephone enquiries: (853) 2833 3000
Displays last approx. 18 minutes, with two displays per evening.
More information and program download, please visit Macau Government Tourist Office
Fireworks Carnival 2008
Date:13, 14, 20, 27 & 01Oct08
Time: 5:00 pm. to 11:00 p.m.
Admission free
Venue: Adjacent to Macau Tower
Organizers: Macau Government Tourist Office, General Union of Neighbors Association of Macau
The resurrected Miss Macau pageant crowned its first winner in 11 years last Sunday. As a 2007 IFT (Institute For Tourism Studies) graduate, Florence Loi, 23, should be well equipped to market Macau to the world as her new beauty queen!
As part of their presentation to convince judges of their eligibility to be the face of Macau, the contestants had to wax lyrical about Macau’s signature snacks, including the Portuguese Egg Tart and Pork Chop Bun.
The second runner up Ana Kuan Barroso, a Macanese of mixed Portuguese and Chinese heritage, was a crowd favourite, so it wasn’t surprising that the Macau Polytechnic Institute student bagged 2 subsidiary awards.
They are:
Most Stylish and Glamorous Hair Award
Most Popular Miss Macau
So after 11 years, a new Miss Macau is finally going to be crowned this Sunday at CotaiAreana at The Venetian Macao.
The 10 finalists are below, and the general consensus from people I’ve been speaking to has been:
“Is that the best they can do?”
“Not pretty”
“So ordinary”
“Wait, isn’t that a man??!”
Sure, it’s easy to stand back and point fingers, but to actually get up there and bare your soul to the public, not to mention your body in a swimsuit is not easy for any girl without formal training.
We should applaud them if anything, for their courage. Beauty pageants are a strange thing. If you represent your country in an international sporting (think of the recent Olympics), music event, or film, you get the respect and support from your countrymen and women. Miss Macau will eventually represent this SAR on a an international stage, at an event that will be broadcast worldwide.
In terms of exposure for the country, they are just as eligible for support, yet, I doubt Miss Macau is going to have a whole bunch of Facebook groups dedicated to her and her her journey to the international finals.
In fact, many beauty pageant contestants in Asia have to battle constant criticism about their looks and intellect, and the stereotypical assumptions that they must be vain and stupid.
This is in a major contrast compared to beauty pageant contestants in India, where a pageant queens are stars and Latin America, where the women have been often quoted as “a national treasure”.
In India, girls with “pageant potential” start their training from young. Classes held by pageant trainers cover subjects including dressing, deportment, manners and how to generally come across as a good ambassador for their country.
I don’t believe Macau has the habit of grooming potential pageant queens from young - and after 11 years, any pageant trainers would probably have changed careers or starved to death by now. Most of these girls were probably still playing with Barbie Dolls and My Little Pony.
Indian superstar Aishwarya Rai’s career took off when she became 1994 Miss World. To me, she has always been the ultimate beauty, even if she doesn’t fit the Kate Moss mold.
In Venezuela, the local winners can bag themselves prizes like an apartment, car and even free plastic surgery and cosmetic dentistry services, to make them even more gorgeous. They often go on to lucrative endorsements, acting careers and marry celebrities.
In the United States, many girls dream of representing their country in a beauty pageant.
As a result of the support and admiration the girls in these countries get, more of them are likely to enter the competition, leading to a greater talent pool to select girls from. But who would want to represent their country only to be unappreciated at ridiculed? Perhaps there is a girl out there who could make the finals. But it is unlikely she’ll ever consider joining the contest without the support of the public.
If anyone thinks that the girls below aren’t exactly supermodel standard, well I’d agree. They aren’t your typical stick-thin and lanky clotheshorses. But then, people confused modeling contests with beauty pageants. Pageant queens are supposed to show poise, speak well, show sympathy and intellect and come across as likable - well, in order to be successful.
Successful models on the other hand, have to have symmetrical features which can adapt to suit different trends and figure which flatters most styles of clothing (read, skinnier than your average beauty queen).
They don’t particularly have to be well versed or liked, or well behaved off the runway.
It’s like comparing an actor to a model - both are attractive but require a different set of criteria and skill.
The 15,000 fans that showed up for his concert on Saturday obviously love him. But Aaron Kwok, who arrived in Macau on Thursday, made it clear that he is in love with this SAR.
Speaking during a group interview after his first concert in Macau, he said :”Macau has become more beautiful. When I was going to The Venetian Arena from the Macau International Airport, I saw many beautiful casino-hotels in the city, which makes me want to live here.”
Although he didn’t have much of an opportunity to see many of the sites outside The Venetian, he did manage to spend some time at Four Seasons Macao next door, where he and his crew enjoyed a few drinks during a private after-hours party at the newly opened champagne bar - the Moet Bar, located in The Shoppes at Four Seasons.
On Saturday night, it was strictly business at Aaron brought the world’s largest indoor revolving stage to Macau.
The packed Venetian Cotai Arena was the venue for his 15,000 fans, and they watched on in amazement as Aaron performed on a stage that spun vertically and horizontally, moving as high up as 10 meters.
The 2-hour concert saw Aaron changing into many costumes, and showing off the dancing and singing skills which has led to his title as one of Hong Kong’s “Four Heavenly Kings”, alongside Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung and Leon Lai.
His revealing costumes also showed off a taut and trim physique. Despite being 42-years-old, there wasn’t an ounce of fat on the performer, who bared his 6-pack midriff in a topless costume change.
There wasn’t much time to soak up the success of his concert, as Aaron returned to Hong Kong that very night. He will be performing next in Foshan on September 20 and Shanghai on October 20.
Other projects on his plate include Fung Wan II aka Storm Warriors, an adventure fantasy film also starring Simon Yam and Nicholas Tse.
Just before Thursday night’s Gala Premiere of Cirque du Soleil Zaia, Asia’s first permanent Cirque show, we got taken backstage for a tour.
We didn’t just go back, we went on top, in front and under, since the Zaia’s set includes an impressive ceiling track, which circles actors and props above the audience.
As most of the major props emerge from under the stage, you can imagine the hive of activity taking place underneath the action would be almost as exciting as what you’d see on the stage.
Here is set and props designer Guilaume Lord conducting interviews while strapped onto a massive “iceberg” which helps create the arctic setting for one scene.
Though each iceberg is held up by two fragile looking wires, each of the thin threads of steel are capable of holding 900 pounds of weight each. That’s about the average weight of 46 men, so they weren’t taking any chances.
As Zaia is set in outer space, the track allowed the performers to glide, fly, dance and even ski through the air, creating the impression that they were weightless.
Like the costumes, the make-up style for Zaia is vibrand and bright, with a lot of orange, reds and blues.
Here, make-up designer Nathalie Gagne, who has been working with Cirque du Soleil for 15 years, uses celebrity MAC Makeup and Ben Nye, a professional brrand of make-up to make up a cast member.
In the wardrobe department, designers work on fantastical headgear and colorful costumes, some of which are made of recycled toys and objects.
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Without question, Mahjong is one of the most popular games in Asia.
Now, the World Series of Mahjong is turning the game into a star-studded tournament, with contestants from around the world recently competing in Macau for one million US dollars in prize money.
This year, 302 contestants from 15 countries battled it out for the title of "World Mahjong Champion", with the 1st place winner taking home a cool 500,000 US dollars.
