The Taipei 101 skyscraper’s management has raised the funds needed to pay for its annual New Year’s fireworks show, Minister of Finance Sheu Yu-jer (許虞哲) said on Monday.
Speaking at a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee, Sheu said that Taipei Financial Center Corp (TFCC) has raised the NT$45 million (US$1.41 million) budgeted for the show.
The government is TFCC’s largest shareholder, with a 44.35 percent stake.
The Tourism Bureau will contribute up to NT$20 million for the show on behalf of the government, as it has in previous years, while the private sector has pledged to provide the rest, Sheu said.
Taipei 101 spent NT$45 million on the New Year’s fireworks show last year, which lasted 238 seconds and involved a total of 30,000 fireworks.
The Taipei 101 fireworks display has become one of the most watched New Year’s events in Taiwan over the past 12 years, attracting millions of people to the city to join in the countdown to New Year’s Day.
It has also become a staple of New Year’s fireworks roundups on television news programs around the world.
In recent years the building’s management has struggled to find sponsors for the show, leading TFCC to discuss the idea of replacing the fireworks with lights.
Taipei 101 spokesman Michael Liu (劉家豪) said the company worked hard to raise the funds for the show and secured commitments from some private firms with assistance from the Ministry of Finance.
He refused to name the firms that have made pleges or the amounts they have promised, saying talks with private sponsors are continuing.
However, he did say that Taipei 101 is also planning a light show for the first time, which would involve a total of 800 special effects lights around the iconic structure.
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