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KUCHING: History was made at the 10th Rainforest World Music Festival when ticket sales crossed the million-ringgit mark for the first time.

Sarawak Tourism Board chief executive officer Gracie Geikie said this was the first time that ticket collections had crossed the magical mark.


Great response: Part of the crowd at the festival at the Sarawak Cultural Village in Santubong on Saturday night.
Ticket sales this year was greatly boosted by on-line purchases. . Last year, ticket sales was about RM700,000.

Tickets were priced at RM80 this year, up from RM60 last year. Three-night tickets were sold at RM200.

A record 17 musical groups from several countries performed at the festival in the Sarawak Cultural Village on the foothills of the legendary Mount Santubong.

Six of the groups, including those from Sarawak, will also perform at the inaugural World Music Festival at the Botanical Gardens in Penang on Friday.

More than 6,000 fans attended the opening show on Friday, compared to 3,500 last year. The crowd swelled to nearly 9,000 on Saturday and an estimated 7,000 fans watched the show last night.


Russian Malerija band Huun Huur Tu combining traditional music with throaty singing in one of the performances.

“About 45% of the fans were foreigners,” said Geikie, who added that the number was less than last year due to the shortage of hotel rooms.

The Holiday Inn Damai Resort, one of the three resorts in Santubong, is closed fora proposed RM30mil redevelopment project.

Geikie said the board plans to make the festival more interesting next year by including fringe events.

“We also want to create a global heritage village by bringing in indigenous tribes from various countries.

“These tribes will demonstrate how to make and use their musical instruments,” she added.