GEORGE TOWN: The annual George Town Heritage celebrations and the 2020 George Town Festival have been cancelled to curb the spread of Covid-19.
State Tourism, Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said this followed the advisory from the Health Ministry to postpone mass gatherings to stem the transmission of Covid-19.
“In view of this, the state government, George Town World Heritage Incorporated (GTWHI) and TLM Event Sdn Bhd have made a difficult decision to cancel both celebrations.
“We believe that prevention is the best solution, and social distancing is critical to prevent the spread of Covid-19,” he said today.
Both events are originally scheduled to be held in July to celebrate the 12th anniversary of George Town as a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Yeoh said, both events involved thousands of local and international artists, crew members, contractors and project teams.
The events, he said, gathered thousands of families and individuals who want to experience the beauty of George Town’s arts, culture and heritage.
“It would be hard to trace the travel history of all participants and celebration-goers (to ensure they are virus-free), and their close proximity to one another would further increase the risk of the virus spreading.
“We have to cancel these events to protect everyone,” he said.
GTWHI and TLM Event, as the event contractor would approach all relevant stakeholders including project partners, project teams, vendors, local communities as well as international and local performing groups to renegotiate collaboration terms.
“By default, all planned programmes for the 2020 George Town Heritage Celebration and the 2020 George Town Festival will be carried forward to next year,” he stressed.
George Town was given World Heritage Site status by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) in 2008.
In recognition of the award, July 7 was marked as George Town World Heritage Day.