KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 (Bernama) -- More than 150,000 visitors are expected to flock to Dataran Merdeka here to see the Malaysia Games Festival @ Kuala Lumpur 2024 (FPM@KL 2024), scheduled for Sept 13-16.
Director-general of the National Department for Culture and Arts (JKKN) Mohd Amran Mohd Haris said the annual event, now in its ninth year, is in the Cultural Tourism Calendar of events to revive and elevate unique traditional games as an attraction for tourists in conjunction with Malaysia Day (on Sept 16) celebration.
"We hope this KL festival can reinvigorate cultural tourism, to improve the local economy and become an attraction for domestic and foreign tourism," he said in the FPM@KL 2024 press conference here today.
According to him, the festival's concept includes strong content of traditional games, interactive games, tastes of heritage, exhibitions and demonstrations, cultural arts performances and sales.
Mohd Amran said a total of 2,639 participants coming from the uniformed services, corporate sector and higher education institutions, will partake in 10 traditional sports competitions (organised by Malaysian Traditional Sports Association) such as ‘tarik upeh pinang’ and ‘batu seremban’, a smorgasbord of childhood games which are a throwback to the heyday of the older generations.
Mohd Azman said main events with FPM@KL 2024 are the International Drum and Dance Festival (Genta), the Kuala Lumpur Cinta Rasul Programme and an international tug-of-war contest involving clubs from Brunei, Taiwan and Singapore and 60 local clubs from all over the country.
Other events include a poetry recital, sambal festival, language exploration, P Ramlee and Saloma 'joget' workout, kabaddi competition, martial arts and top-spinning (gasing) contest.
"This year, several new events are an interactive lion dance, Chinese chess and a Saloma bazaar and 'Jom Solat Subuh Macam Jumaat'.
Mohd Amran said FPM@KL 2024 will also launch a Senam Seni 2.0 which is a new module featuring dance and fitness moves.
-- BERNAMA
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