THE Esplanade ground came alive when hordes of people from all walks of life thronged the first-ever Penang Grand Parade 2020 that was held on New Year’s Day.
The grand parade started at Gurney Drive at around 6pm, passing through Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah and Farquhar Street before ending at the Esplanade at about 8.15pm.
Visitors were entertained with some eye-catching performances by the participants from a variety of 20 cultural groups and associations, including some bands.
Some colourful and decorated floats that were specially designed could also be seen during the night procession that also marked the start of the “Experience Penang Year 2020′ (EPY 2020).
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, who graced the event, said the state government was officially launching the campaign of Experience Penang Year 2020, themed ‘The Diversity of Asia’, to boost the tourism industry in the state.
“Through this campaign, the state government is committed to presenting a variety of tourism elements in terms of arts and cultural heritage, food diversity, the uniqueness of George Town as a Unesco World Heritage Site and a variety of interesting treasures available in the state.
“Based on the statistics from Malaysian Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), the passenger movements until November last year (2019) recorded 7,555,275 passengers which is 7.43% growth compared to the same period in 2018 at 7,032,974 passengers.
“Another statistic from Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) also shows the total amount of cruise ship passengers to Penang recorded an increase of 32.71% from 258,478 passengers in October 2018 to 343,039 passengers in October last year (2019).
“Thus, I believe 2020 will be another year that we can achieve a great success in promoting Penang to the domestic and international tourists.
“And I hope that EPY 2020 would be a great success and all the people in Penang will work together with the state government to ensure that year 2020 will be a successful year for the tourism industry in Penang,” Chow said in his speech during the event.
Chow added that he was proud that people from different backgrounds and religions gathered to celebrate the New Year in peace and harmony during the parade.
State Tourism Development, Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin, who also attended the parade, announced the ‘Experience Penang International Coastal Run 2020’ that would be held on March 15.
“It will have two categories, consisting of 4.5km run and 10km run.
“The venue will be at Queensbay Mall coastal area.
“Thus, I hope the programme will receive great participation from the people in the state,” Yeoh said before participating in the launch gimmick about the run together with Chow.
At the Esplanade ground, the visitors also enjoyed some various exciting performances by popular comedian and actor Gurmit Singh through his popular character as ‘Phua Chu Kang’, and UK Bhangra Award winner Kamal Chopra before the event ended with a magnificent fireworks display to mark the start of the EPY 2020.
Also present were state Welfare, Caring Society, and Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh, Penang Island City Council (MBPP) mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang and Batu Lancang assemblyman Ong Ah Teong.
Story by Riadz Akmal
Pix and video by Law Suun Ting