Kuala Lumpur – The 6th International 24 Festivals Drums Festival and Malaysia 24 Festive Drums Competition will be held on Saturday, September 28, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. at the Plenary Hall of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center (KLCC). Representatives from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture of Malaysia will host the event and witness the crowning of the ultimate drumming champion.
The 6th International 24 Festive Drums Festival and Malaysia 24 Festive Drums Competition, organized by the Malaysia 24 Festive Drums Association and presented by Hands Percussion, will be held again after a six-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally scheduled to take place every two years, this prestigious national competition took place in 2018, and the anticipation to crown the "champion of champions" is immense.
This year's event, themed "Infinite Legacy, Endless Innovation," celebrates the 36th anniversary of the founding of 24 Festive Drums. The international festival, which has been held for the past 14 years, will, for the first time, move from its birthplace in Johor Bahru to Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, with two primary goals:
This year, the festival will host invited 24 Festive Drums teams and experts from Fujian, Guangdong, and Zhejiang provinces in China to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and China with a grand celebration of drum performances.
The event will kickstart a global awareness campaign to support Malaysia’s National Heritage Department's plan to nominate 24 Festive Drums for inclusion in the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2026.
The Malaysia 24 Festive Drums Competition is the highest-level event in the Malaysian 24 Festive Drums scene, with judges from all regions of the country. The competition season is divided into six regional competitions: Central Malaysia, Northern Malaysia, Southern Malaysia, Sarawak, Sabah, and the East Coast.
Finalists for the National Competition:
Northern Region: SMJK Jit Sin SKK 24 Festive Drums Team, Bukit Mertajam
Central Region: Tsun Jin High School 24 Festive Drums Team, SMJK Yu Hua Kajang 24 Festive Drums Team
Southern Region: Foon Yew High School 24 Festive Drums Team, Johor Bahru, Seremban Chung Hua High School 24 Festive Drums Troupe
Sarawak Region: Kuching Chung Hua High School No. 1 24 Festive Drums Team,
Sabah Region: Sabah Tshung Tsin Secondary School 24 Festive Drums Team
East Coast Region: Kuala Terengganu SMJK Chung Hwa Wei Sin, 24 Festive Drums Team
Winners from each regional competition will compete head-to-head at the finals, held at the iconic KLCC Plenary Hall in Kuala Lumpur, where they will vie for the highest honour in Malaysian drumming.
The 24 Festive Drums is a performance art that blends the 24 solar terms, Chinese calligraphy, and Cantonese lion dance drumming. It was co-created in 1988 by Malaysian poet Tan Chai Puan and Malaysian musician, the late Tan Hooi Song, and was recognized as a Malaysia National Heritage in 2009. It has since gained international recognition, with over 500 teams across five continents and more than 10,000 drummers performing globally. It is estimated that over 40,000 drummers have participated in 24 Festive Drums performances to date.
After nearly a year of preparation, the long-awaited Malaysia 24 Festive Drums Competition is entering its final countdown, hoping to draw large crowds of 24 Festive Drums fans to witness this grand event. International drum teams attending include Kecheng Lichun Drum Club, Chaozhou Chao Xiang Ensemble, 24 Festival Drum Team of Huaqiao University, Drummover, and Zingo Festival Drum.
Tan Chai Puan, the co-creator of 24 Festive Drums, shared that the Malaysia 24 Festive Drums Association is currently seeking 24 corporations to step up as "inspirational sponsors" for its upcoming heritage bid in two years' time.
“At this juncture, we are reaching out to corporations and educational institutions, encouraging them to contribute a minimum of RM10,000 to RM20,000 in one-off sponsorship. We aim to cultivate meaningful partnerships with these esteemed organizations, harnessing the power of their influential brands to champion and preserve our nation's cultural heritage,” said Tan.
The Malaysia 24 Festive Drums Association aims to promote the development of drum teams nationwide, facilitate inter-school exchanges, and enhance students' drumming skills. It also seeks to standardize and unify the coaching and transmission of 24 Festive Drums, preserving the cultural heritage for future generations.
Tickets are priced at RM298, RM248 and RM198 per ticket for the Red Zone, Yellow Zone and Green Zone on the Ground Floor, with a 20% discount for group bookings of 10 for RM198. Orange Zone on the 3rd floor is RM98 per ticket, RM90 for students (10% discount for group bookings of 10).
For more ticketing information, please click https://www.cloudjoi.com/shows/2080 or email: [email protected] or WhatsApp Adeline 0127798009.
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