KUCHING, June 9 — Grammy award winners Gipsy Kings, featuring Tonino Baliardo, of France, will be among the 80 international artistes to perform at the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF) at the Sarawak Cultural Village in Santubong this month, Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah said today.
The state tourism, creative industry and performing arts minister said the Gipsy Kings are known for their Catalan music and won a Grammy Award in 2014, apart from amassing numerous gold, platinum, and diamond discs for their album sales.
He said the other big name to feature at RWMF will be the award-winning Big Mountain, whose 10 members consist of Americans and Jamaicans.
He said he is sure that these two big names in the ethnic music industry will attract fans to come to RWMF.
“All in all, a total of 80 foreign artistes will perform during the three-day RWMF from June 23 to 25,” he told reporters after officiating the Appreciation Day for the sponsors of the RWMF.
He said there will be about 200 performers, with 80 per cent of them Malaysians.
He said the response from ethnic music lovers has been very encouraging based on the tickets sold so far.
“What I can say is that tickets for the so-called early birds, numbering about 3,000, have been snapped up,” he said.
Karim said he expects many attending this year’s RWMF will be repeat attendees.
He said he is sure that the participants of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (Pata) regional conference here from June 21 to 23 will also go to RWMF.
Karim said he believes that over 20,000 people are expected to attend the festival, the maximum figure that was registered in the past years.
Earlier, in his speech, Karim said RWMF has been recognised as a music festival of international stature, attracting thousands of festival goers globally, since its inception 26 years ago.
“Not only has RWMF become Sarawak’s ‘Star Festival’ being one of the 25 best international festivals, but it has also become an international platform that strongly advocates responsible tourism, in its quest to become one of the world’s most sustainable, eco-friendly festivals,” he added.
He said this reflects Sarawak’s clear goal to elevate the reputation and appeal of the RWMF, with the aim of making the festival a congregation of traditional sounds and instruments from different corners of the world, bringing people together to celebrate diverse music, arts and culture.
“It is also to connect and embrace with the values of sustainability which is in line with Sarawak’s Post Covid-19 Development Strategy 2030,” he added.
