The annual ‘Galaxy Got Talent’ competition saw 12 finalists performing to a packed audience, and for a good cause – Macau Holy House of Mercy’s Rehabilitation Centre for the Blind.
The Grand Final of Galaxy Entertainment Group’s (GEG) annual talent show contest, ‘Galaxy Got Talent’, took place on October 9 in the East Square of Galaxy Macau™. The highly anticipated event saw 12 finalists deliver their best performances in a wide range of areas including singing, acrobatics and dancing, in the hope of scooping up one of the eight special awards on the night. In addition to the dazzling acts on stage, ticket sales for the event also raised MOP150,000 for Macau Holy House of Mercy, to support its Rehabilitation Centre for the Blind.
‘Ice Square’, formed by two team members from the corporate security department and the finance department, saw their dance performance win ‘The Move of GEG Award’; Arno Chan, from the entertainment department, won ‘The Sound of GEG Award’ with his powerful vocal performance; and ‘Star Gentlemen’ took home ‘The Talent of GEG Award’ with their funny stage drama.
Other awards included ‘Most Creative Award’, ‘Best Audience Choice Award’, the ‘Best Showmanship Award’, the ‘Best Dress Award’ and ‘Facebook’s Most “Like” Award’, with prizes worth a total of MOP450,000.
Now in its fifth year, the officiating guests for the Grand Final included Ms. Lei Lai Keng, Head of Employment Department of Labour Affairs Bureau, Ms. Wendy Wong, Senior Advisor of Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, and Mr. António José de Freitas, President of Macau Holy House of Mercy. As in the previous year, the event continued to promote the important message of social integration by arranging ‘Focus’, a local band formed by five members from the Rehabilitation Centre for the Blind, to join the GEG team members in an opening performance on the night.
Another special guest highlighting social inclusion of people with disabilities was the visually impaired Singaporean artist, Tan Wei Lian.
Tan is himself a talent show winner after becoming the grand champion of Project SuperStar in Singapore, winning a recording contract and going on to release three albums. In addition to singing accolades, he was also the first visually disabled person in Singapore to be signed for a product endorsement and the first to play a lead role in a Mandarin television drama, Dream Chasers.
But singing is his first love and being part of ‘Galaxy Got Talent’ was a special career moment for Tan. “This is a place where not many artists get the chance to perform, so I am very happy to get the chance to do that”, he said before taking to the stage on the night.
The event touched a cause close to Tan’s heart. Speaking of the ticket proceeds that went to charity, he said, “It is quite important because it’s helping people who are in need, everybody needs some form of help from time to time, whether you are a disabled person or you are just a normal person.”
Mr. Francis Lui, Vice Chairman of GEG, presented the donation cheque to Mr. António José de Freitas, President of Macau Holy House of Mercy. Speaking of the band from the Rehabilitation Centre for the Blind Mr. Freitas said, “The members of ‘Focus’ were thrilled to be invited to perform for the Grand Final. I would also like to give my special thanks to the GEG team members who spent their spare time to practice with the band. I am sure this performance will help enhance public awareness of the situation of visually impaired people.” He also thanked GEG for the generous donation, all of which will go to the Rehabilitation Centre for the Blind.
The inspiring words of Tan Wei Lian summed up the spirit of the night, “What the organisers hoped to accomplish is to inspire more people to go forth and to try and work towards their targets, their goals, their dreams. As long as you give your best, anything is possible.”
