The 30^th Macao International Music Festival (MIMF), organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau, will be held from 1^st to 30^th October. In celebration of its pearl jubilee, top-level musicians and ensembles from Russia, the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Mongolia, the Taiwan region, Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao, will present 20 programmes and a total of 27 excellent performances. This edition of the MIMF is themed 'Glorious 30‧The Sinophone Rhapsodies'. In addition to renowned classics, this year the MIMF specially presents several works of ethnic appeal performed in venues around town, including heritage sites.

The Festival kicks off with its own production, joining hands with internationally renowned Italian stage director Giancarlo del Monaco and acclaimed set and costume designer William Orlandi, to present, in three acts, Giacomo Puccini's immortal opera Turandot. Renowned American conductor Timothy Brock leads the Macao Orchestra on the live accompaniment to the silent films 'City Lights' and 'The Gold Rush' by comedy genius Charlie Chaplin, bringing to a close the MIMF's pearl jubilee in Dr. Carlos d'Assumpção Park under a starry sky.

The 30^th MIMF also features the Macao International Music Festival Forum, themed 'Music and Arts Festivals as Drivers of a City's Cultural Development' from 30^th September to 1^st October in the Macao Cultural Centre conference room. Several talks and discussion sessions by prominent practitioners from overseas and the nearby regions will be held.

Speakers include Managing Director of the Barbican Centre, Sir Nicholas Kenyon; Founder and Executive Director of Verbier Festival, Martin Engstroem; CEO of Arts House Limited, Singapore, Lee Chor Lin; Executive Director of Hong Kong Arts Festival, Tisa Ho; Co-founder and Artistic Director of Clockenflap, Hong Kong's Music and Arts Festival, Jay Forster; Digital Strategist of Clockenflap, Hong Kong's Music and Arts Festival, Simon Bratt; Dean of the School of Music of Shanghai University, Wang Yong; Director of Shanghai Culture Square, Zhang Jie; and General Manager of Wu Promotions, Wu Jiatong, among others. Admission to the forum is free and all are welcome to register. Seats are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Tickets will be on sale from 10:00am from Sunday 7^th August at the Macau Ticketing Network and telephone and online bookings are available from 12:00 noon on the same day. On the first day of ticket sales, purchases are limited to a maximum of 10 tickets per performance per person. Early bird discounts of 30 per cent will be available when buying tickets from 7^th to 14^th August, and a 20 per cent discount will be offered when buying tickets from 15^th to 21^st August.

For more details of programme and offers, please access the Festival's website at www.icm.gov.mo/fimm/30 (Chinese and Portuguese version only).