Manila, Philippines - The Department of Tourism (DOT) will stage a grand musical extravaganza at the ongoing Yeosu Expo in Korea to show to the world why it’s more fun in the Philippines.
Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. said the DOT has tapped the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) to produce the show highlighting the uniqueness of the Philippine brand of fun.
“Our mandate for the CCP is to make the show define tourism as fun, and equate fun with the Philippines. This three-way equation will thus strongly identify the Philippines with tourism as an essentially fun activity,” Jimenez said.
The CCP is now organizing the show, which will be staged during the Philippine National Day presentation at the Yeosu Expo on July 22.
The show is initially envisioned to bring together popular Filipino talents that include rhythm and blues singer and songwriter Kyla, male soloist Gian Magdangal, Ballet Philippines and dance group UCDC, with either of Korean Sam O or Grace Lee as emcee.
The show will revolve around the Philippine Pavilion theme “Islands of Diversity/Seas of Connectivity” while invoking the commonalities that bind Filipinos and Koreans.
“For example, Kyla will sing the Pangarap na Bituin, a popular OPM (original Pilipino music) used as theme song for the Tagalog-dubbed Korean TV series Jewel in the Palace,” said Philippine Organizing Committee (POC) Commissioner General and DOT Assistant Secretary Domingo Ramon Enerio III.
“The song numbers will also have visual support in terms of colorful traditional and contemporary dances and video presentations on Philippine culture and tourism destinations, augmented by indigenous Filipino percussion music that similarly characterizes Korea’s native symphony,” Enerio added.
Enerio said the concept was intended to make the show inspiringly contagious in enticing spectators to venture into the Filipino’s exotic and exhilarating world of fun and excitement.
The Philippine National Day at the Yeosu Expo will be a whole-day affair beginning at 10 a.m. and includes two musical shows, among other activities.
The first show will be at 10:20 a.m. and the second during the Philippine Grand Presentation at 3 p.m.
“Secretary Jimenez, accompanied by other government officials, is scheduled to make his sales pitch to the Korean-dominated international audience before the start of the CCP’s cultural show in the morning,” Enerio said.
“The CCP show will thus provide Secretary Jimenez’s keynote speech with a universal translation, or interpretation, in the form of a spectacular and multi-sensory stage presentation, which can transcend any language or cultural barrier,” Enerio added.
The show also appears to be in keeping with Jimenez earlier promise that while the Philippine Pavilion in the Yeosu Expo may not be the biggest, “it will be the most fun!”
How much fun the Philippine Pavilion offers can be gleaned from the over 29,000 visitors during the three-day Korean holiday celebrating Buddha’s birthday.
“The Philippine Pavilion generates an average of 10 to 12 percent of total expo visitor arrivals. The daily number of 5,000 will increase with the coming summer holidays from June to August,” Enerio said, citing the latest official count surpassing 10,000.
Aside from the DOT and the CCP, the government agencies involved are the departments of Foreign Affairs, Environment and Natural Resources, Trade and Industry, and Budget and Management, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
Supporting them are Korean firm Hyundai Asia Resources Inc., TV networks GMA7 and TV5, national flag carriers Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines, the Network of Underwater Digital Imagers, Biemann Produktion Haus, retail giant SM Super Malls, the World Wildlife Fund, and various local government units, among others.
For other details about the expo, contact the POC at +632 525-7320 or +632 525-9318 locals 243, 258, 269; fax at +632 525-6165; e-mail at philpavilion2012@yahoo.com or visit www.7107.co.kr/philexpo2012.