SIBU: The Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) is gearing up for its 20th Borneo Cultural Festival (BCF) 2024, aiming to attract over 150,000 visitors during the event.
Deputy chairman Mohamad Abdullah Izkandar Rosely stated that this year’s BCF, which runs from August 8 to 17 will feature some unique elements compared to previous years.
“We anticipate over 30,000 visitors for the opening and closing ceremonies alone and based on past editions, we’ve seen about 15,000 to 20,000 attendees each night over the ten-day festival, and we expect similar numbers this year,” he said.
He expressed this in a press conference after a meeting with various agencies and communities involved in organising the BCF 2024 at Dewan Rajang, Wisma Sanyan here yesterday (August 2).
Izkandar also informed that delegates and participants from the Participatory Design Conference (PDC) 2024 are expected to visit the festival, including international visitors from Europe.
“Participants from the Shaolin Temple in China will perform Kung Fu demonstrations reminiscent of those by famed actor Jet Li.
“We have invited international PDC 2024 designer artists to showcase their talents, such as creating personalised clay sculptures at the trade and business exhibition section, Tradex,” he said.
He highlighted that performances from various ethnic communities will also attract more interests for the festival.
BCF 2024 will be launched by Deputy Premier of Sarawak, Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian on August 9 at the Dataran Tun Tuanku Bujang at 6 pm .
The closing ceremony will then be officiated by the Minister of Tourism, Creative Industries, and Performing Arts, Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, on August 17 at 7 pm.
