The contingent from Tribu Mabolokon of Brgy. Mabolo prepares for the Grand Parade of the Sinulog Festival 2023 at Cebu South Coastal Road (CSCR) on Sunday,January 15, 2023. | [FILE PHOTO] Morexette Marie Erram
This was confirmed by Sinulog Foundation Inc. (SFI) Executive Director Elmer “Jojo” Labella in a news forum on Tuesday, November 14, 2023.
READ: RAMA: Sinulog 2024 will still be at SRP
Roof on bleachers
Labella said that the SFI is gearing up as early as now to cater the guests and participants better like putting up roofs on the bleachers to protect spectators from heat or rain.
He added that the SFI is expecting more or less 30 contingents to participate next year, and as of Tuesday, 15 contingents have shown their interest in joining the festival next year.
The opening of the registration will be on December 1, 2023.
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama already made the declaration during his speech at the Sinulog Grand Festival 2023 Awarding Ceremony last January that the Sinulog was to be held again at the SRP.
READ: Cebu City tourism office expects more guests in Sinulog 2024
Initial Sinulog preparation updates
Initial updates on the preparation
On Tuesday, Labella said that the competition is open to all local government units (LGU) who wanted to participate, especially those who have not participated in the last Sinulog competition.
Labella said that the committee assigned for the preparation of the Sinulog festival in 2024 are working on the improvements to address the concerns aired during last year’s Sinulog.
And they said that they would dubbed next year’s celebration as “Sinulog sa Sugbo Philippines 2024.”
READ: Mayor Rama thanks those who made Sinulog 2023 successful
3.7 km carousel route
With regards to the route, they are planning to have a 3.7-kilometer carousel route, however, they are yet to release the official route plan for the event as of this writing.
Last year, it took place at the main avenue of the SRP, Labella said.
READ: Cebu’s Sinulog among top 3 festivals in Asia
Showcasing the SRP
He added that the Sinulog at the SRP, as per Mayor Michael Rama, would be an avenue to showcase the SRP bringing Cebu City’s aim to be a ‘Singapore-like Cebu City.’
Besides that, Labella said that having the Sinulog at the SRP would “decongest” the traffic in the city and widen the area for the festivities.
“Dili na kalihok ang transportation [sa una] kay grabe man to anha sa the usual route,” he said.
(The transportation then could not move because the traffic in the usual route was really horrendous.)
READ: Cebu City eyes ‘Sinulog Philippines’ for 2024
Controversial
The Sinulog at the SRP in 2023 was reportedly ‘controversial’ because of the change of venue, wherein people were used to witness the Sinulog at the Cebu City Sports Center (CCMC).
Labella said that they have taken note of the improvements they should do in next year’s event, especially the bleachers.
Concerning the ongoing construction of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), the celebration of Sinulog is reportedly expected to take place at the SRP for a longer time.
READ: Rama: Preparations for ‘Sinulog Philippines 2024’ start now
Cultural building
Labella added that they are also planning to build a cultural building at the SRP, however he did not expound on this during the news forum.
Moreover, Labella said that the capacity of the main venue is 6,000, while the street dance route is 10,000.
The estimated budget which is subject for finalization is P60-P70 million. The prizes for the winning contingents is also yet to be finalized along with the budget.
In a follow up interview with Labella, he told CDN Digital that they would still present the planned budget to the council and advised the public to keep updated through their Facebook page.
Labella added that they also invited President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte to attend the celebration.
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