More than 100,000 ring in 2014
Second countdown a huge success as young people come out in droves
“Countdown to 2014” – Yangon’s largest music extravaganza – brought together more than 100,000 people at the Myoma Ground on Tuesday to usher in 2014.
Organised by the Myanmar Index Creative Village (MICV) in conjunction with Myanmar’s Forever Group, the second edition of the countdown party struck a chord with the younger generation, who turned out in force to revel in the free concerts performed by some of Myanmar’s top artists.
Divided into three zones – Free Concerts, Snow Town and Food and Drinks – the countdown celebrations attracted droves of young partygoers.
“People like music. Music is the right marketing tool in this country as it can capture every age group. That’s why we have youngsters and their parents coming. People love alternative rock and hip hop in particular,” Narindej Thaveesangpanich, regional director of MICV, said.
“There’s never been a countdown party in Myanmar before. This is only the second time we’ve organised one. The aim is to educate people about what the countdown is. For the first time the government has designated January 1 as a public holiday. It wasn’t a holiday in 2013.”
The participating artists included Htoo L Lin, Sone Thinn Par, J-Me, Thxa Soe, Ye Lay, G-Tone, Ar-T and Eaint Chit. Singers from Ain Mat Sone Yar and Uranium dancers also took part.
This year’s countdown event went smoothly, thanks mainly to last year’s event’s spectacular success. The organising part involved a lot of red tape, as every event organised in Myanmar requires a licence approved by the government. Yet, the country’s young event-management industry is growing rapidly.
Narindej sees positive changes on the horizon, noting that Myanmar has the hardware, workforce and a bright outlook for foreign investment. The only thing lacking is know-how, he said.
MICV’s 19 Myanmar staff have absolutely no experience in every aspect of event management, ranging from the handling of light and sound equipment to creative and graphic skills and venue management. MICV has had its local staff undergo training in Bangkok.
“In Myanmar, people have access to the best high-definition cameras, yet they don’t know how to use them properly. More and more people have started using smartphones too. The year before, not many people took photographs with their mobile phones, but this past year, everybody seems to have a phone with a camera function,” Narindej said.
MICV is planning three major events in Myanmar this year, including a celebration of Thingyan – traditional New Year – and an end of the year countdown party.
“Our business is set to grow quickly in Myanmar as we’ve built quite a good name here. In five years, we’re hoping to expand more horizontally in our industry.
“The country will experience a digital revolution very soon with the advent of 3G technology thanks to Telenor and Ooredoo,” he said.
“Online marketing is all the more important these days. I’ve got 10,000 members on our Facebook Thingyan event fan page within a few days – something that would have been unthinkable a year ago.”
