“The 11th International Lion Dance Championship 2024 – MGM Cup” Coming Up in Barra this October

In the past decade, MGM has been leveraging Macau as a window to promote lion dance and Chinese culture across borders, propelling the city’s cultural tourism to a higher-quality development. This year marks a new milestone for MGM’s effort in popularizing Lingnan culture, as the Company celebrates the 10^th anniversary of “MGM Junior Lion Dance Summer Class” and the 11^th edition of “MGM Lion Dance Championship”. The Championship will continue to intertwine Lingnan lion dance culture and Macau’s world heritage site of A-Ma Temple, in a bid to further expand the intangible heritage’s appeal and telling good stories of China and Macau via this international sports event.

Guests of honor presented graduation certificates to the young lion dance masters.

MGM holds the press conference of “The 11^th International Lion Dance Championship 2024 – MGM Cup” (Championship) and the graduation ceremony of the 10^th MGM Junior Lion Dance Summer Class 2024 (Class) at MGM COTAI today (August 31), announcing the Championship will be held from October 5 to 6 at Barra Square of A-ma Temple. The officiating guests of the event includes: Leong Wai Man, Director of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC); Cheng Wai Tong, Acting Director of the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO); Vong Ka Kun, Acting Head of Macau Grand Prix and Major Sporting Events Department of Sports Bureau (ID); Ka Si In, Head of Division of Primary and Early Childhood Education of Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ); Sit Kai Sin, Director of Maritime Museum of Marine and Water Bureau (DSAMA); Chan Weng Kit, Chairman of Dragon & Lion Dance Federation of Asia and President of Wushu General Association of Macau (WGAM), and Hubert Wang, President & Chief Operating Officer of MGM China Holdings Limited.

Hubert Wang said, “In order to pass on the lion dance culture in Macau, MGM nurtures local lion dance athletes in a systematic manner, from summer class, annual training program, exchange trip in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) to international competition, all with the aim to offer an ideal environment for the development of lion dance. We have been bringing new elements and upgrading the Championship continuously, and it has now been recognized as one of the top three southern lion dance competitions in the world.  To date, MGM has been playing an active role in promoting the lion dance culture in the GBA and using Macau as an important link to bridge the cultural exchanges between East and West.  In future, we will carry on expanding the Chinese culture through international sports and culture events.”

MGM announces “The 11th International Lion Dance Championship 2024 – MGM Cup” will be held on October 5 and 6 at Barra Square of A-ma Temple.

21 Excellent Lion Dance Troupes to Battle in front of A-ma Temple 

“The 11^th International Lion Dance Championship 2024 – MGM Cup” will have a strong lineup of 21 lion dance troupes with 210 athletes competing for four contests, namely “Freestyle Lion Dance Championship – Taolu Movements on Poles”, “Female Traditional Lion Dance Championship”, “Youth Traditional Lion Dance Championship” and “Junior Traditional Lion Dance Championship”. This year, the number of the competing troupes increases by nearly 20%, and the troupes come from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Australia, Thailand, Japan, Italy and Myanmar. This highly entertaining sports competition is scheduled to take place at Barra Square of A-ma Temple during the National Day Golden Week, in tribute to the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and the 25^th anniversary of the Macao SAR.

Since last year, MGM brought this prominent international lion dance competition into the Barra District, to showcase the significance and the profound history of Lingnan lion dance culture, and at the same time injecting fresh vitality into the traditional culture that serves as a good example of the export of Chinese culture from Macau to the world. The Championship is jointly organized by MGM and Dragon & Lion Dance Federation of Asia, advised by Chinese Dragon & Lion Dance Sports Association, undertaken by WGAM, and supported by the Department of Publicity and Culture of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR, ID, DSEDJ, IC, MGTO, Municipal Affairs Bureau, DSAMA and International Dragon and Lion Dance Federation.

The young lion masters delivered an energetic performance, showcasing what they have learnt from the seven-week training.

A Decade of Cultivating 640 Young Lion Masters

Committed to the inheritance and popularization of lion dance, MGM has organized the Junior Lion Dance Summer Class for 10 consecutive years, enabling children to make good use of their leisure time and building up their physical fitness, team spirit and most importantly, cultural confidence. This year, MGM partnered with Mak Chi Leong Dragon & Lion Dance Association Macau to hold the summer class, with DSEDJ, IC, MGTO and WGAM as supporting units. The enrollment has tripled this year and MGM increases the number of participants to 100 for more children to learn lion dance. To date, MGM has already trained 640 young lion masters in the past 10 years.

The young lion masters delivered an energetic performance, showcasing what they have learnt from the seven-week training.

Additionally, the graduates of the summer class can join the “MGM Lion Dance Training Program” to further elevate their skills of lion dance. This program has trained nearly 200 lion dance athletes in Macau so far, who actively participate in various competitions, community celebrations as well as school activities. MGM will host an exchange trip in Foshan for junior lion masters and teenager lion dance athletes this September, to help deepen their understanding of Lingnan lion dance in its cradleland.