Thousands of people gathered outside Mahabandoola Park on February 14 to see the spectacular fire show starring international jugglers. The fire show took place on the Unplugged stage next to the famous Sule Pagoda in the heart of Yangon. Unplugged is on a historic site directly opposite City Hall and in front of the Independence monument which commemorates Burma’s independence from Britain in 1948.
Staging performances on the Unplugged stage is a recent initiative by the City’s Parks department, which provides the space to bands on Saturday evenings during the dry season. When the park closes at 6pm, the performers take to the stage while the crowd watches from the other side of the ubiquitous barbed wire barricades.
After months of diplomacy by Serious Fun Yangon coordinator Virginia Henderson and our partners at the Smile Education and Development Foundation, the Mayor’s office agreed to we could stage the festival fire show on the Unplugged stage. Check out some of the highlights in the video and photographs below.
Many thanks to the Parks department, the Serious Fun crew and performers, and to camera team Lin Thet Naung, Yannick Jooris and Tim Webster.