The World Masters Games are to conclude today with the final rounds in soccer and tennis, while New Taipei City is to host the closing ceremony tonight with headliners Taiwanese boy band Energy, drag queen Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅) and Taiwanese hip hop group Caotun Boy (草屯囝仔).
While most events were completed yesterday, the last day still has tennis finals in various categories and age groups at the two main tennis venues in Taipei and New Taipei City today.
In soccer, 11-a-side men’s teams are today to vie for the trophy in the Competitive Recreational category for 45+, 50+ and 55+ age groups at Taipei’s Yingfeng Riverside Park Football Field (迎風河濱公園足球場), while matches in the Open category for the 65+ age group are being held at Jhubei City’s (竹北) Hsinchu County Second Stadium (新竹縣第二運動場).
Photo courtesy of the New Taipei City Cultural Affairs Bureau
As cohosts, Taipei launched the Games with the opening ceremony at the Taipei Dome on May 17, while New Taipei City officials are the main organizers for this evening’s closing ceremony, featuring music, entertainment, a laser light show and fireworks to spotlight the “We are the World” theme.
According to the New Taipei City Cultural Affairs Bureau, the closing ceremony is to be held at the New Taipei City Art Museum in Yingge District (鶯歌), which is a brand new facility that opened only last month.
Work began on the facility in December 2018, and its exterior park spaces opened to the public on April 2023.
Games participants and members of the public wishing to attend the closing ceremony are advised that traffic control and restrictions are in place all day, and the best way is to take a Taiwan Railway Corp train to Yingge Station, then to follow the corridor and signs for a six-minute walk to the venue, which opens its doors at 5pm, organizers said in a news release.
“The site is divided into four areas: Zone A has the performance stage for participating athletes, including the para competitors; Zone B is to the east for all athletes — passes with name tags would be checked on entry; Zone C is to the west side of the main stage and is for the general audience, while Zone D is at the site’s northeast corner and serves as a recreational area for parents and families with kids,” the release said.
According to officials and a map for the event, Zone A hosts the main stage for the music and entertainment performances, while other areas are further away, with giant screens set up for zones B, C and D audiences.
A street market is also being held nearby, which opens at 3pm.
The program starts with an address by the president of the International Masters Games Association, Taipei and New Taipei City mayors, and representatives from the next Games’ host city in Japan, followed by performances featuring Energy, Nymphia Wind, Caotun Boy, singer-songwriter Kasiwa (葛西瓦), DJ RayRay and other acts, along with colorful laser light shows, the release said.
The show would conclude with a four-and-a-half minute fireworks show over the riverside park along the Dahan River (大漢溪), the release said.
Security checks are in place for Zone A, and participating athletes are restricted to bringing in a bag under 50x50x50cm in size, while there are storage spaces available, officials said.
Officials advise bringing a simple bag with a water bottle, and refills are available at the site’s water dispensers.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of