The first ever Kuala Lumpur International Buskers' Festival (KLIBF) from 2 to 10 December 2006 (5:30 - 10:30 pm daily) will be held at selected venues in the city. Organised by Tourism Malaysia, Pempena Sdn Bhd and Interexpo (M) Sdn Bhd in conjunction with the Malaysia Year-End Sale 2006 (MYES 2007) and Visit Malaysia Year 2007, it is slated to be a major annual event and tourist attraction in Malaysia.

Busking, the art of street performing ranges from singing, tap dancing, stilt-walking to fireeating. It requires highly skilled and versatile talents as there are no rehearsals, scripts or routines just pure spontaneous oneonone fun interaction with the audience on the pavement.

Among the major highlights of this year's festival are the Grand Buskers' Parade and the Late Nite Madness Bash. Kicking off the festival will be the Grand Buskers' Parade at Dataran Merdeka on 2 December 2006. This big and spectacular parade comprises an amazing flower display, awesome marching bands and gigantic inflatable statues. There will also be a showcase featuring the best of Malaysian culture, arts and entertainment, along with the cast of international street performers. During the Late Nite Madness Bash, pubcrawlers in KL will be bombarded by buskers out to entertain and create excitement.

The Buskers' festival has won accolades and awards from the International Festivals & Events Association (IFEA USA) and has grown to become a worldclass event. In Singapore, it has attracted over 500,000 people and has become the second largest street entertainment festival in Asia. For its inaugural debut in Malaysia, the organisers have lined up an impressive assembly of the best, most contagious and wacky performers from Canada, Japan, USA, Australia, Canada, Mexico, UK, Macedonia and Netherlands.

Expect to see hilarious skateboard circus, zany clowns and dazzling magicians from Canada, Daikagura performers with a modern twist from Japan, deathdefying sword eaters from USA, tribal beats, earthy didgeridoo music from Australia, fire eating artistes from the Netherlands as well as local homegrown buskers.

The mark of a cosmopolitan city is its buzzing and vibrant street life, and Tourism Malaysia hopes to inject fun and joy into KL through this international assembly of performers. The KL International Buskers' Festival is set to be a mustsee annual international festival that will strategically position Malaysia as a happening venue for worldclass events in the region.

For more information, please contact:

Issued by the Communications Division, Tourism Malaysia
Tel: (603) 2615 8188
Date: 18 October 2006