Cultural Consultative Committee | Estoril Hotel basic facelift details revealed

During the first plenary meeting of the Cultural Consultative Committee this year, more details have been disclosed on how the currently decrepit Estoril Hotel interior will look following at least three or four years of reconstruction.
During the approximately three-hour conference, the cultural authorities also unveiled an array of entertaining activities for the 10th anniversary marking the city’s entry into the UNESCO World Heritage List and also the 30th anniversary of the Macao International Music Festival.
Earlier this month, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam disclosed that the authorities were determined to transform the Tap Seac Square Estoril Hotel into a culture and sports complex for the city’s youth, with part of its space reserved for students from local performing schools and institutes. Besides this, the authorities expected to create a small auditorium, a parking lot and venues for art or culture-related work.
If possible, some areas will be partitioned for indoor ice-skating and exhibitions. The multi-activity center might also run a café, a souvenir kiosk, tourist consultation center as well as an outdoor stage.
All these facilities will come to completion, hopefully in four or five years, said Tam. “I want, as most of you also do, to build those projects, the quicker the better, yet it’s our subjective hope,” hinted the secretary.
The adjacent Estoril swimming pool will become an indoor hot water aquatics venue open all year long. The façade of the hotel is expected to remain intact with its former exterior characteristics preserved. During the media briefing, Alexis Tam reassured the press that the new height of the complex after its revamp would be similar to the current one, still allowing a clear view across the side of Guia Hill with the city’s signature lighthouse in sight.
The Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) head, Ung Vai Meng, told the committee members it was almost impossible to retain the interior style of the past inside the building as multiple rounds of internal refurbishment have disfigured its previous appearance.
Separately, different symposiums and new publications will soon be on the horizon as the IC celebrates the decade-long anniversary of the successful application of Macau as a world heritage destination with a series of activities, shows and exhibitions.  Staff reporter

Five cultural facilities to open

Up to five new cultural facilities will gradually go operational this year, including the Arts Cinema, whose official inauguration has been postponed several times. The venue will be open to the public in September this year in a pilot scheme. Additionally, according to Ung, the Sun Yat-sen pharmacy, situated downtown, continuously saw new discoveries of valuable relics and artifacts and thus faces a revamp delay.