Shanghai woos foreign tourists with concerts, operas, symphonies featuring global artists

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Shanghai targets 20,000 extra overseas visitors with high-profile arts festival, aiming to boost the city’s economy and international standing

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Shanghai has been actively developing cultural tourism, banking on concerts and operas to lure visitors. Photo: Bloomberg

Daniel Renin Shanghai

Published: 7:30am, 27 Aug 2024

Shanghai has set a target of attracting an additional 20,000 foreign tourists in one month by hosting highbrow arts and cultural events, as part of the local government’s effort to elevate the city’s international profile and spur the local economy.

German symphony orchestra Munich Philharmonic, French pianist Alexandre Kantorow, who performed during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics, and renowned bass-baritone opera singer Bryn Terfel have been enlisted to attract visitors during the month-long China Shanghai International Arts Festival (CSIAF) from October 18, the organisers said on Monday.

“World-class artists and organisations will gather here to present top-notch concerts, operas and symphonies,” said Li Ming, president of the CSIAF, a unit of Shanghai Administration of Culture and Tourism, which hosts the festival.

The shows will display Shanghai’s innovative capabilities, increase the city’s global influence worldwide and help the city create a platform for artistic performances, he added.

Some 700 shows to be held during the festival will bring 200,000 visitors, Li said, adding that 10 per cent of those will be from outside the mainland.