The annual Taiwan Lantern Festival is to begin tonight in Chiayi County, with an opening ceremony featuring performances by the air force, as well as Taiwanese and overseas artists.
The southern county is hosting the festival for the first time since 2018. It is to run until March 15 and feature more than 600 lanterns, including the main lantern titled Alishan, Veiled in Luminous Mist (光沐-世界), accompanied by two supporting lanterns.
Other festival highlights also include the Super Mario Star Festival section, presented by Japanese gaming giant Nintendo.
Photo: Lin Yi-chang, Taipei Times
In addition to the main lantern show, the opening ceremony would feature performances by the air force, the Rakuten Monkey baseball team’s cheerleading squad and Tsou singers.
Dance troupes from Chiayi County, Japan and the Philippines are also to perform at the opening ceremony.
The festival’s performance schedule is available at its Web site, https://2026taiwanlanternfestival.org.
After attending yesterday’s opening ceremony rehearsal, Tourism Administration Director-General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) told reporters that the agency is considering whether the festival should continue to be hosted in different regions each year or in a fixed location.
The festival, previously known as the Taipei Lantern Festival, was first held at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in 1990. Since 2001, the festival has been named Taiwan Lantern Festival and held in a different locality each year.
However, many cities and counties have developed their own lantern festivals over the years, making it necessary to redefine the role of the national event.
The agency is evaluating whether the festival should be held at a permanent site, such as a national scenic area under the administration’s supervision, Chen said.
“We need to be extremely cautious. The Taiwan Lantern Festival has evolved into an international event. Any change would affect domestic tourism and its brand in the international community. We cannot afford to consider it only from a Taiwan-centric perspective,” she said, adding that it would continue to communicate with local government officials over this issue.
To host such a large international event, the locality must have sufficient resources, including transportation and financial capacity, she said.
Hosting the Taiwan Lantern Festival in Hualien, Taitung, Penghu, Kinmen or Lienchiang (Matsu) counties would be challenging, Chen said.
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