Buskers Engage Audiences Virtually Amidst the Phases of Safe Re-opening
  • A pilot initiative between the National Arts Council (NAC) and Bigo Live to offer buskers an opportunity to bring the arts to audiences during the COVID-19 period
  • Viewers get the chance to enjoy engaging and fun performances by eight Singaporean buskers from 29 to 30 May between 8:00pm to 9:30 pm (SGT) and on 31 May between 8:00pm to 9:00pm on the Bigo Live app

SINGAPORE, May 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Buskers in Singapore have had to take a temporary break from busking on the streets since the Circuit Breaker period kicked in. Even with the gradual easing of measures, Singaporeans may not be able to enjoy the vibrant busking acts on the streets as we used to yet. A pilot initiative between the National Arts Council (NAC) and a Singapore-based live streaming platform, Bigo Live, aims to change that by going online with virtual busking.

Buskers Engage Audiences Virtually Amidst the Phases of Safe Re-opening
Buskers Engage Audiences Virtually Amidst the Phases of Safe Re-opening

The SGLivehouse virtual busking sessions will take place over three days from 29 May to 31 May 2020, between 8:00pm – 9:30pm (Singapore Time) on 29 May to 30 May, and between 8:00pm – 9:00pm on 31 May, on the Bigo Live app. Eight buskers will be part of the pilot, with a 30-minute segment each to present their original performances to audiences. The initiative will also provide training to buskers on how to go digital and live stream their talents to a global audience. It will also enable the buskers to earn some income during this period as Singapore gradually resumes activities safely.

Jill-Marie Thomas, one of the buskers participating in this pilot initiative, said: "We are excited for this opportunity to share our talents with audiences online while earning some income. As we have had to pause all busking activities and cancel our gigs due to COVID-19, we certainly miss bringing our music to Singaporeans and interacting with passers-by live! We will keep our heads up and continue looking for new and creative ways to bring the arts to people."

Ms Elaine Ng, Senior Director of Engagement and Participation at the NAC adds, "Many of the artists including our buskers, have used technology to digitalise and create innovative content and to reach audiences in exciting new ways. Through this pilot initiative that allows buskers to virtually engage audiences from Singapore and the world, we hope everyone will get to enjoy #SGCultureAnywhere as if they were walking along the streets of Singapore." 

Mike Ong, Vice President of BIGO Technology said, "Bigo Live is pleased to collaborate with NAC to bring about this meaningful pilot initiative to show our support and stand in solidarity with the local performing arts community. This collaboration allows us to provide an alternative platform for buskers amidst these trying times. We encourage Singaporeans to show their support to our fellow buskers by tuning in to their performances from the comforts of their homes."

Viewers from Singapore and all around the world can tune in to the live streaming sessions and engage with the buskers as well as the community by using various features on the app. Viewers will also be able to send virtual gifts to the buskers as a form of appreciation for their performances. To enjoy these busking acts, download the Bigo Live app and search for the Bigo ID: "SGLivehouse" in the app.

The full performance schedule of the participating buskers are as follows, with the last 30-minutes of each day’s session for the live chat.

29 May (Friday)

8:00pm: Dansen John Chua Jin Wei

8.30pm: Ligo Ralph Alvern Cueco

9:00pm: Jillian-Marie Thomas

30 May (Saturday)

8:00pm: Ryan Han Wei Ren

8:30pm: Daniel Sidhanand

9:00pm: Ng Ah Hock

31 May (Sunday)

8:00pm: Ho Mui Lin

8:30pm Andrew Tan Yue Yao

About Bigo Live

Bigo Live is one of the world’s fastest-growing live-streaming social communities where users broadcast in real-time to share life moments, showcase their talents and interact with people from around the world. Bigo Live has around 400 million users in over 150 countries and is currently the market leader in the live-streaming industry. Launched in March 2016, Bigo Live is owned by BIGO Technology which is based in Singapore.

Download the Bigo Live app here: https://bigolive.onelink.me/sG8X/bigoliveapp 

Photo – https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200526/2813008-1?lang=0

Casual mobile sandbox game “SUPERTANK BLITZ” now available for global pre-registration
  • Global pre-registration for Smilegate’s newest casual sandbox game "SUPERTANK BLITZ" begins May 21 (Thursday)
  • Sequel to "Super Tank Rumble" with over 20 million downloads worldwide… Challenging the global market with next-level gaming quality

SEONGNAM, South Korea, May 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Smilegate Megaport (CEO Ina Jang) announced that global pre-registration for "SUPERTANK BLITZ," a new, casual mobile sandbox game serviced by Smilegate Megaport and developed by Lumidia Games (CEO Jangho Lee), will begin on the 21st (Thursday).

Casual mobile sandbox game “SUPERTANK BLITZ” now available for global pre-registration
Casual mobile sandbox game “SUPERTANK BLITZ” now available for global pre-registration

Pre-registration will be offered worldwide, simultaneously, through the SUPERTANK BLITZ pre-registration website (https://supertankblitz.smilegatemegaport.com/evt/202005_preregist?lang=en) and Google Play. Users who participate in pre-registration will receive a variety of in-game goods such as Gems, Super Boxes, and special issue Medals.

SUPERTANK BLITZ is the sequel to mobile sandbox game "Super Tank Rumble," which was released by Smilegate in 2017 and recorded over 20 million downloads worldwide. Chosen by Google as the most innovative game of 2017, "Super Tank Rumble" has been recognized for its original game quality.

The larger framework of the series where various parts are combined to build your very own tank and compete with other players has been maintained, while new elements have been added to character collection and emphasis has been placed on battle content for more casual enjoyment. Furthermore, the entire UI (user interface) of the Tank Assembly page has been dramatically improved, and parts organization has been simplified to enjoy more intuitive tank assembly.

The addition of character elements is the most notable change to the sequel. Users can collect and build a variety of characters through real-time battles. As the character grows, more parts are made available to create an original, powerful tank. Each character has its own distinctive tank, and the tank is provided when a new character is collected, providing a foundation for easy assembly of tanks of a wide variety.

Meanwhile, user response has been positive to the soft launch initiated ahead of global pre-registration by Smilegate on the 19th in six countries, Canada, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, and The Netherlands.

Smilegate Megaport CEO Ina Jang said, "Smilegate will continue to break new ground and develop the unconventional genre of ‘casual sandbox’ through SUPERTANK BLITZ," and that "we ask for your support as Smilegate aims for gamers all over the world who love games to be exposed to more diverse genres of games in order to further develop the game ecosystem in a positive direction."

Pre-registration for SUPERTANK BLITZ is available at the official pre-registration website (https://supertankblitz.smilegatemegaport.com/evt/202005_preregist).

Jiwon Hong, [email protected]

Photo – https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200522/2811490-1?lang=0

Related Links :

http://smilegatemegaport.com

Meituan Demonstrates its Contributions with the 2019 Corporate Social Responsibility Report

BEIJING, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Meituan Dianping (HKG: 3690), China’s leading e-commerce platform for services, today released its 2019 Corporate Social Responsibility Report (or "the Report") to demonstrate how the company has created value for users, industry and society through platform resources and technology innovation.

Meituan Dianping 2019 Corporate Social Responsibility Report
Meituan Dianping 2019 Corporate Social Responsibility Report

In 2019, Meituan further strengthened focus on its mission of "We help people eat better, live better." Meituan enhanced its commitment to sharing its social responsibility philosophy across its whole ecosystem in order to promote development and progress and to create better lives, a prosperous industry, and a harmonious society.

Highlights of Meituan CSR Report 2019:

  • Services for seniors and children became new territories for service consumption growth. In 2019, the number of delivery orders from the elderly increased by nearly 30% over that of the previous year. Meanwhile, child-friendly hotels and restaurants, as well as education services, also saw a boost. In particular, the number of user reviews of "child-friendly hotels" on Meituan more than doubled in 2019.
  • Meituan provides its 6.2 million merchants with comprehensive support programs to help accelerate their digital transformation. About 49% of China’s "time-honored catering brands" now provide delivery services on Meituan.
  • 3.99 million delivery riders obtained income through Meituan in 2019, an increase of 23.3% year-on-year, and 56.8% of riders were employed in their home provinces.
  • In 2019, among 257,000 delivery riders from state-registered poor households who earned income through Meituan, 98.4% helped their families out of poverty because of the increased income from their employment as delivery riders.

A better life for 450 million users

In 2019, the per capita service expenditure in China accounted for 45.9% of the total consumption. Meituan has made continuous efforts to meet the diversified needs for the quality life of 450 million users on its platforms through technology innovation, service innovation and product innovation.

The Report shows that services for seniors and children became new territories for service consumption growth. Meituan Waimai, the company’s on-demand food delivery business, has helped solve the difficulties in cooking and dining faced by the elderly. In 2019, the number of delivery orders from the elderly, people aged 60 or above, increased by nearly 30% over that of 2018. Meanwhile, for the younger generation, Meituan witnessed a sharp growth in transaction volume for child-friendly restaurants.

Based on deep consumer insights, Meituan provides users with convenient, quality and trustworthy consumption references. Meituan’s 2019 "Black Pearl Restaurant Guide" served as a credible reference for food lovers, while supporting the development of high quality restaurants by driving their number of online orders for set meals up 69% and the total online sales volume up 190% year-on-year.

At the same time, Meituan is committed to promoting a healthy diet and lifestyle. Its platforms witnessed rapid growth in demands for light, low-calorie, diet and healthy meals, sports and fitness activities and consumer medical and healthcare services in 2019.

The beginning of 2020 was marked by the outbreak of COVID-19, stalling a majority of in-store services. Delivery riders served as people’s lifelines while cities were under lockdown and people had to stay at home. Meituan statistics show that Meituan riders in Wuhan, Hubei province, delivered over 4 million orders during the 76-day citywide lockdown period and over 7,000 supermarkets, pharmacies and grocery stores on Meituan in Wuhan delivered groceries and medicines for residents. Meituan was as well the first in the industry to introduce a "contactless delivery" service to protect users and riders from the virus.

Empowering 6.2 million merchants on digitalization

In 2019, the number of active merchants on Meituan reached 6.2 million. Meituan provides diverse merchant support programs in marketing, delivery, IT support, supply chain, operation and financing, to help them lower costs and improve operational efficiency through digital transformation.

The Report shows that 49% of China’s "time-honored catering brands", which operate about 3,100 restaurants in 246 cities nationwide, provide delivery services on Meituan, while 19.3% offer group purchase and reservation services and 23.5% use QR codes and other digital payment systems. Meituan’s digitalization support is driving a 23% revenue increase in new catering businesses.

Building "new infrastructure" for digital life and a harmonious society

Meituan has been expanding the coverage and practices of social responsibility through programs in employment, poverty alleviation, and public welfare to help address social problems, leveraging its digital capabilities to build a dynamic, sustainable society with partners.

Delivery riders, which were recently added to the official national occupation list by China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, have become a "new infrastructure" for urban life. The Report unveiled that 3.99 million delivery riders obtained income through Meituan in 2019, an increase of 23.3% year-on-year, while 56.8% of delivery riders were employed in their home provinces. Among the 257,000 delivery riders from state-registered poor households who earned income through Meituan last year, 98.4% helped their families out of poverty.

Since late January, after the virus outbreak, Meituan has recruited over 950,000 new riders to join its delivery network.

For the full Meituan CSR Report 2019, please visit:
https://about.meituan.com/about/society/responsibility

About Meituan Dianping

Meituan Dianping (HKG: 3690) (the "Company" or "Meituan") is China’s leading e-commerce platform for services. With the mission of "We help people eat better, live better," the Company’s platform uses technology to connect consumers and merchants. Service offerings on the platform address people’s daily needs for food, and extend further to broad lifestyle and travel services. Meituan is the world’s leading on-demand food delivery service provider and China’s leading e-commerce platform for in-store dining services. Meituan helps consumers discover merchant information, make informed decisions, complete online and offline transactions and enjoy on-demand delivery. The Company currently owns several household brands in China, including Meituan, China’s leading online marketplace for services, Dianping, China‘ s leading online destination for discovering local services, Meituan Waimai for on-demand delivery services, and Meituan Bikes for bike-sharing services. Meituan has 450.5 million Annual Transacting Users and 6.2 million Annual Active Merchants as of December 31, 2019. The Company operates in over 2,800 cities and counties in China.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Meituan Dianping Global Communications
[email protected]

Photo: https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200520/2809425-1?lang=0

Related Links :

https://www.meituan.com/

Quadrant Launches The Asia Pacific Data Alliance

SINGAPORE, May 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Quadrant today announced the Asia Pacific Data Alliance (APDA), a program that helps leading corporations, governments and researchers who are working to build solutions for the Asia Pacific region that help organizations understand the…

TCL Communication Launches Its Latest Smartphones Alcatel 3X and Alcatel 1SE

HONG KONG, May 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — TCL Communication today announced the worldwide availability of its latest Alcatel branded smartphones – the Alcatel 3X and the Alcatel 1SE. Equipped with multiple cameras, immersive displays with high screen-to-body ratio and powerful…

New Influencer WebCam-Based Social Platform, Jasmin.com, Launches Pamela Anderson Joins as Creative Director

Top Relationship Experts and Lifestyle Personalities to Offer Advice and Videos NEW YORK, May 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Jasmin, the world’s first web camming site exclusively dedicated to connecting users with lifestyle, relationship, and sex positivity influencers, announced its launch today.…

Likee and Creative Destruction Turn up for Online Challenge in U.S. with Influencers Daina Lachance, Officially.Livia, HouseofBrooklyn and Stefanialily

LOS ANGELES, May 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Likee, a leading global video creation platform, has activated a hashtag challenge with top 10 global mobile game Creative Destruction on its platform. Kicking off recently with videos created by Asyasiam, Beautybrooke, HouseofBrooklyn…

Kezzler Delivers Farm-to-fork Authenticate and Traceability System to Chinese National Agricultural Park

Kezzler enables RunHui Agriculture to secure its supply chain and protect well-known Chinese food products from counterfeits OSLO, Norway, May 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Kezzler was selected by RunHui Agricultural Comprehensive Development Co. Ltd (referred to as RunHui) to provide…

TECNO Mobile launches the groundbreaking five camera-equipped Spark 5

HONG KONG, May 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — TECNO Mobile, a global premier mobile phone brand, has announced the launch of the groundbreaking Spark 5 smartphone. Equipped with five cameras and a powerful 5,000 mAh battery, the Spark 5 will bring…

Bigo Live Announces ‘Global BIGOer One World Together’ Fundraising Campaign To Support WHO In Fight Against COVID-19

The “Global BIGOer One World Together” fundraising campaign brings together the global BIGO community to raise donations for the World Health Organization’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund Campaign highlights include the release of a music video featuring 100 broadcasters from over…