After a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Sunway Pyramid has opened its doors to two world-class sporting events.
At its famous ice rink, 550 skaters from eight countries are competing in the Skate Asia competition. At its convention centre, 3,500 athletes, officials, and delegates from 110 countries are battling it out at the World Youth Muay Thai Championships.
Kelvin Wong, assistant manager (marketing) at Sunway Giza and Pyramid Ice, said Skate Asia was a regular feature at Sunway until the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We did have an event last year, but it was on a smaller scale. Judging was done online,” said Wong.
“This year, all the athletes are back, and many of our retailers are also our sponsors.
“It certainly brings some ‘life’ back, as the skaters are very exciting and loud.”
Wong was right, as many outlets were packed with skaters. Muay Thai exponents were also seen wandering around the mall, buying trinkets and other items.
Malaysian Muay Thai Association secretary-general, Dr John Mohd Abdul Rahim, earlier this week, said that the event, which ends next Saturday, would generate RM50 million for the country due to the large number of participants and the length of the competition.
He explained that hotel, and the food and beverage industry would also benefit from the tournament.
Wong said Sunway was planning other events from now until the end of the year as more and more people are returning to the malls after two years of lockdown.
One of the events is at the group level, where volunteers, on Tuesday, would pack 60,000 packets of dehydrated meals for the underprivileged communities.
Since the country’s borders reopened on April 1, several shopping malls have gone out of their way to attract customers.
One of the big attractions – judging by the number of participants and events – is anime/cosplay exhibitions that occur nearly every week around the Klang Valley.
In the past month, there have been several such events at Da Men in Subang Jaya, LaLaport in Bukit Bintang, Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, with another one scheduled in Mid Valley Megamall next week.
