Major Events in Tsuyama
Tsuyama International All-Round Music Festival
In addition to an annual concert including colleges and citizens, a variety of concerts are held each year in Tsuyama to celebrate the city's cultural history and music as a means of international exchange.
With this as a background, the Tsuyama first international All-Round Music Pestival was held in 1987 as an event in the northern area of Okayama prefecture in commemoration of the Great Seto Bridge. Many people, groups, and organizations from the northern part of the prefecture participated in the festival. Joint performances by professionals and amateurs evoked a great response.
This festival is now held every three years, aiming at building a new community with music as its key factor, the purpose of the festival is to activate the local area through cultural awareness, to promote interaction between provinces and the central district through music, and to carry out international exchange suitable for a new era.
The theme of this festival has been "For Future Friendship & Musical Art". With Gustav Mahler as its theme composer, the purpose of the festival was to activate the area and encourage exchange between Japan and overseas through the promotion of musical culture. The last three festivals of this "Triennale" were realized in anticipation of the age of internationalization, and received much attention from both inside and outside Japan.
The festival features performances of classical, modern, popular, and traditional music in addition to a series of academic lectures and symposiums.
Performance of Mahler's "Symphony No.8" (Symphonie der Tausend) at the 3rd Tsuyama International A11-Round Music Festival in 1993
Tsuyama International Wheelchair Ekiden Race
Every November, racers come from all over Japan and other parts of the world to compete in this wheelchair race for the handicapped.
The race is held with two hopes in mind. One is that it will help society deepen their understanding of the capabilities and needs of handicapped people. The other is to help handicapped people overcome their handicaps, maintain their physical strength, and live with hope and courage.
With the first wheelchair ekiden race in 1988, Tsuyama became the first city in Japan to hold an event like this. More and more athletes have participated every year and now more than thirty teams including some from Korea, China, the Philippines, Thailand, Nepal, and Malaysia have entered the competition. Each team consists of five racers who relay over a 31.5km course. The race is very moving and exciting, and attracts increasing numbers of people every year.
Participants are making their best efforts in the 3rd Tsuyama International Wheelchair Ekiden Race in 1990.
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