Arts Festival becomes latest event canceled due to coronavirus

The Covid-19 outbreak continues to disrupt major events in the Macau calendar, finding its latest victim in the 31st Macao Arts Festival.
The Macao Arts Festival organizer, the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), has this week announced the event’s postponement to next year.
With half of the program performed by foreign companies or performers, the Arts Festival would face additional challenges in terms of logistics and rehearsal arrangements due to the outbreak spreading globally.
Moreover, local performers were due to commence rehearsals in February this year. With these being halted, there will be an impact on the quality of shows, ultimately forcing the festival to be postponed.
The IC noted that the 31st Arts Festival would be rescheduled to 2021.
The Times previously reported that the IC had canceled Art Macao this year, a citywide integrated art event that premiered in 2019.
Furthermore, the 13th Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia will be postponed to July this year. Previous G2E Asia events were all held in June, with the first debuting in Macau in 2007.
“Our top priority is ensuring a safe environment for employees, customers, and exhibitors at Global Gaming Expo Asia,” the organizer of the casino-related event wrote in a statement. “In consultation with our exhibitors and the Macau government, […] we are postponing G2E Asia 2020.”
However, after about a month’s closure, the Macao Science Center has announced that it will reopen with limited capacity on March 9. The venue’s convention center will remain closed.
Visits will be split into two sessions – one in the morning and one in the afternoon – each accommodating 200 visitors at maximum capacity. Certain exhibition halls will remain closed and all presentations are canceled for the time being.
Its planetarium will screen only 2D movies to lower the risk of the spread of disease through sharing 3D goggles.