44 Nations To Take Part In Kite Festival

JOHOR BAHRU (Johor, Malaysia) Jan 23 (Bernama) – 44 countries have confirmed their participation in the Pasir Gudang World Kite Festival 2018, to be held at Bukit Layang-Layang, Taman Bandar, Pasir Gudang, Johor Bahru, from Feb 28 to March 4. Themed ‘Empowering The World Community’, the festival, which is into its 23rd edition, will see 250 participants from foreign countries including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Ireland and Japan, besides 810 local participants. State Tourism, Trade and Consumerism Committee chairman,Tee Siew Kiong said like in previous years, the festival would have 21 categories in the kite competition. Tee said several other events would also be held in conjunction with the festival including a special performance by the Eco World Symphony Drummers, launching of the book “Keunikan Pertandingan Wau Tradisi Kebanggaan Malaysia”, and lighted kite show by the Zone 24 community in Pasir Gudang. In addition, a memorandum of understanding would also be signed between the organiser of the festival (Pasir Gudang Municipal Council) and the organiser of the Satun International Kite Festival 2018 to boost ties and share common cultural elements. “The festival drew some 200,000 visitors last year. So, this year we expect about 250,000 visitors, hence boosting the state’s tourism sector,” he told the media after a meeting of the main organising committee of the festival at Menara Aqabah, here. -- BERNAMA