By Marlynda Meraw & Shikin Louis
KUCHING, June 28: Grammy Award winners may be considered to headline next year’s Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) after Kitaro’s appearance this year.
Sarawak Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts (MTCP) Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said this when responding to a reporter’s query during the closing ceremony of the inaugural Rainforest Youth Summit (RAYS) held at Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV) here today.
“Well, for next year we will consider it (big name artists). One good part about this year’s (RWMF) is that Grammy Award winners seem to have a ‘big pull’ on the crowd (and) towards the sales.
“But we are not really looking too much at the monetary (or) the financial side,” he said.
Abdul Karim further said that the annual international event retains its responsibility in educating the public about the importance of preserving and conserving the environment.
Prior to that, a reporter was asking whether Kitaro was the reason for this year’s overwhelming ticket sales. To this, he said: “Yes and no”.
“He is a Grammy Award (winner) and I can say that he has a big following down here. However, he is also performing in Singapore and West Malaysia,” he pointed out.
He also added that this year’s ticket sales had surpassed last year’s figures, stating that the tickets were sold out for the first and second days (June 28 and 29).
“And I can see that the festival-goers are not just locals (where) a lot of them are from overseas (including) West Malaysia and Indonesia,” he emphasised. — DayakDaily
