Singapore Festival 2018 opens in Yangon

The Singapore Festival 2018, jointly organized by the Yangon Region Government, the Singapore Tourism Board and the Doh Eain Company, was opened at 5:30 p.m. yesterday in Yangon.

The opening ceremony was held on the Bogalay Zay Street, between the Mahabandoola Road and the Merchant Street, in Botahtaung Township, Yangon.
At the ceremony, Yangon Mayor U Maung Maung Soe said the festival is unique because it aims to present thoughts and ideas on future Yangon to city dwellers. Yangon has many opportunities and possibilities for becoming a pulsating and vibrant city for city folks and international tourists, he added.

Next, Singapore’s Ambassador to Myanmar, Ms. Vanessa Chan Yuen Ying, said that from 2016, Singapore festivals have been held in shopping centers as a symbol of friendship and closeness between Myanmar and Singapore. “Thanks to all that, starting from this year, the third festival is being held on Bogalay Zay Street near the Secretariat, which is a busy place in Yangon. It is hoped and expected that mutual visits and study tours are maintained at the highest level by employing many ways and means for all to notice the values the two countries have,” she said.

Afterwards, the Yangon Mayor, the Yangon Region Minister for Kayin Ethnic Affairs, Naw Pan Thinzar Myo, the Singaporean Ambassador, and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) CEO opened the festival by pressing a button. The Singapore Festival 2018 will be held from 30 November to 2 December from 4 to 9 p.m., with stalls selling Myanmar and Singapore foods as well as exhibits showing places to visit in Singapore. There’ll be places for children to draw, paint, and play, too. Hellay who wrote and sung the theme song of a television series ‘Where There Is Love’, jointly produced by STB and Forever Group, and Singapore rapper A.K.A. Kevin Lester of The Lion City Boy will be performing at the festival.

Graffiti artists Bart Was Not Here, Wunna Aung, and Thu Myat have also made modern and artistic graffiti on the walls of the buildings along Bogalay Zay Street. People living on Bogalay Zay Street have cooperated with the Singapore Tourism Board and the Doh Eain Company to install and arrange lighting, flowers, trees, street scenes, and walk ways for the festival.

Min Thit and Thant Zin Min
Translated by Zaw Min
Photo: Nay Lin
The Global New Light of Myanmar