The much anticipated Royal Belum World Drums Festival 2013 will be contested with a twist this year. A national-level competition will be held prior to the big day. This came on the heels of the successful festival in 2012 where participation was keen among the invited musicians worldwide.
The national level competition, dubbed the Royal Belum Malaysia World Drums and Percussion Challenge 2013, will be held at the Regional Transformation Centre in Gopeng on February 16 and 17. Prize money worth over RM36,000 awaits the winners. The winning team will represent Malaysia and compete alongside 12 foreign teams at the eventual festival on February 24.
“Before the main event a number of mini concerts will be held in various parts of the state as curtain raisers for the finale,” said Dato’ Hamidah Osman during a media conference recently. She implored on Perakeans to make use of the opportunity to witness some top-notch bands in action.
On the subject of tourism, Hamidah insisted that promotion is ongoing despite the end of Visit Perak Year 2012. The introduction of the 3-year “Discovery Perak Programme” (2013 to 2015) is geared towards maintaining a steady build up in promotional activities. Such activities are also being vigorously pursued in the ASEAN region. The tourism forum in Laos at the end of January is a case in point.
“Tourist arrivals from Singapore have increased seven-fold since VPY 2012,” said Hamidah. This came about by working closely with her tourism counterparts down south. Efforts to draw more visitors from the island republic will be doubled in the months ahead. “We’ll complement Visit Malaysia Year 2014,” Hamidah remarked.
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