GEORGETOWN, March 19 – A very warm welcome everyone to the Launching of Penang World Music Festival 2015. The Penang World Music Festival (PWMF) 2015 will be returning on the 11th & 12th of April 2015. The festival had been organised by the Penang State Tourism since 2012. For the very first time this year, this will be held at the centre of our UNESCO Heritage City, the Esplanade.
YB Danny Law would like to take this opportunity to extend his humble gratitude to all the sponsors which are Discovery Overland Holidays, INTI College Penang, Air Asia, the official hotel of Penang World Music Festival St Giles Wembley and partner hotels Sunway Georgetown, Hotel Jen, Flamingo Hotel, Cititel Hotel and lastly G Hotel. On top of that, Tourism Malaysia is also inviting 50 Media to enjoy on Penang World Music Festival 2015. Without the support of our supporters and sponsors, the Penang World Music Festival 2015 will not be a success.
Like YB Danny Law mentioned earlier, this year the Penang World Music Festival 2015 will be held for the first time in the Esplanade. The night concert will start from 6pm to 12am. Each day thete will be six difference bands. Festival goers can also join the workshops conducted by the musician during the day from 2pm to 5pm. The workshops will be held at Fort Cornwallies on 11 & 12 April 2015. The Penang World Music Festival 2015 Launching are with the YAB Lim Guan Eng, Chief Minister of Penang says It is again the time of the year for one of the most anticipated event in Penang, the “Penang World Music Festival 2015” which will be happening on the 11 & 12 April at the Padang Esplanade and the 229 year old Fort Cornwallis.
This year, there will be 12 bands, 10 from overseas and 2 from Malaysia; Dizu Plaatjies from South Africa, Prem Joshua from India, Razon De Son from Spain, Casuarina from Brazil, Annuluk from Germany, Ajinai from Mongolia, Gus Teja World Music from Bali, Vedan Kolod from Russia, Trad Attack from Estonia, Raggy Project and Nading Rhapsody from Malaysia. The festival is a state government effort to showcase, promote and preserve traditional and ethnic music from all over the world. This festival is also in line with the 2015 Malaysia year of festivals by the Tourism Ministry and visit Penang year 2015.
Events and festivals are a huge part of the tourism industry and can be considered a tourism product as they bring in a large amount of domestic and international tourists annually. Tourists have come in increasing numbers, both domestic and foreign, to Penang. As an indicator of tourist arrivals, the Penang International Airport recorded a 10% growth in passengers from 5,485,756 passengers in 2013 to 6,034,593 in 2014.
This year we have a few award winning groups this year; the first being the group from South Africa “Dizu Plaatjies” which plays traditional African music and dance, Razon De Son from Spain who is one of the most popular flamenco guitarist in Barcelona, Casuarina from Brazil if you want to experience original Samba music and lastly, Prem Joshua from India for a spiritual experience. Two bands from Malaysia will also be performing at the festival. The first is Raggy Project from Penang who have performed quite regularly in Penang, especially Chinahouse. And the second one is Nading Rhapsody from Sarawak. I hope everyone will come and support Penang World Music Festival 2015 and enjoy themselves this 11 & 12 April 2015.
