Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Hong Kong visitors are congregating the Sands Shopping Carnival 2025 in Macau, attracted by the exciting mix of dynamic cultural showcases, irresistible shopping offers and fantastic travel entertainment. Providing visitors with an engaging and interactive environment, this year’s carnival will showcase more than 580 booths, a series of exciting live performances, as well as generous discounts of up to 90% off on international brands! The ever-exciting vibe of the carnival makes it a once-in-a-lifetime travel experience with something to suit all classes of travellers – be it culture vultures or shrewd shoppers. Attracting over 110,000 shoppers, the Sands Shopping Carnival has proven to become a must go leisure and shopping destination.
he Sands Shopping Carnival 2025 that took place from July 17-19 at The Venetian® Macao’s Cotai Expo, was Macao’s biggest sale event featuring overwhelming attention from local residents and visitors. Typhoon Wipha Teichiku Carnival 2013 brought closure in entirety if not in its entirety – the final day of the event was cut due to the typhoon. With almost 110,000 visitors over its shortened three-day tenure the event fell tantalisingly short of last year’s four-day carnival attendance. Since it’s launch in 2020, the carnival has welcomed over 640,000 guests to the event, cementing its status as an annual highlight to be enjoyed by both local residents and tourists alike.
Hosted by Sands China Ltd. and co-organised by the Macao Chamber of Commerce the carnival reached its sixth edition in 2025. Sands China’s annual programme has continued to bring together local SMEs, Sands retailers, NGOs and the arts and culture sector. It is a joint effort that we’re focused on drawing not just residents of Macao but the Greater Bay Area and Hong Kong in making the carnival a mainstay of regional trade and tourism.
A Multi-Faceted Carnival Experience
The fair in 2019 spanned a large set-up that included over 580 booths in eight different exhibition areas. These zones were Sands retailers, household products, gourmet and wine, food court, coffee, Macao cultural and creative, play and fun, and Macao specialties and souvenirs. The introduction of a coffee zone marked the latest trend, reflecting the new café scene in Macao. This zone included a number of renowned coffee brands to satisfy the appetite for coffee as was befitting current consumer spending trends.
A particular highlight this year was the open-mic busking zone just outside the coffee zone. This edition saw guests express their musical side, making the event a livelier event and a more community-driven event. Attending Visitors igt were treated to a variety of over 5,000 products on offer for MOP 1 each day, as well as receiving discounts of up to 90 percent off selected items from International brands. It was also easy for everyone to find the party with free shuttle and great parking.
Lively performances and community-based initiatives
A key feature of the carnival was the ICBC ePay Presents: Greater Bay Area Karaoke King Singing Competition. Over 100 contestants from the Greater Bay Area participated in this fun event to be an extra-layer of fun at the Carnival and to represent the region’s cultures. It was a carnival atmosphere and the crowd’s rousing cheer and applause highlighted the happiness that competition can bring.
Demonstrating its strong commitment to being part of the community, a number of local organisations were also featured at the carnival. The number of participating community organizations over the last six years has also grown dramatically from three in its first year to this year’s record 19. These entities had a significant role in the sensitization of the participants to their services and social inclusion. Sands Cares Ambassadors hosted the event onsite, supporting local organizations with activities that helped them maximize their day.
Among the most impressive community programmes was the BOC Smart Kids Presents: Little Master Chef Workshop, conducted by Sands China’s food and beverage team. This practical workshop provided parents with the chance to work alongside their children to create sushi, inspiring creativity and developing cooking ability. A second highlight included sand was ambassadors as they helped members from Salvation Army Joy Family Integrated Service Centre enjoy the thrill of a fun karting experience and try their luck at carnival games.
Championing Sustainability and Local Talent
Consistent with its Sands ECO360 global sustainability strategy, the carnival also focused on environmental awareness. Local NGO Green Future and Sands ECO360 Ambassadors demonstrated to exhibitors how best to recycle cardboard, plastic and metal and how to manage waste effectively. 15 15 19762.EXP.039 The Sands Plastic-Free July Workshop An interactive program that inspires people to live a life without plastic, turning ‘waste’ into beautiful and efficient merchandise designed to inspire and to teach sustainability.
Fostering local businesses and entrepreneurs has always been at the core of the carnival. In 2025, Sands China feted the businesses from the Community Revitalisation Series – Entrepreneurship Recruitment Programme for Rua das Estalagens and the local retailers of the former Iec Long Firecracker Factory to display their products. This program was designed to help these businesses to build up their local customer base by providing them a platform to reach as many people as possible which were local to their business.
The Sands EmpowHER team was also part of the carnival and hosted a booth that supported female entrepreneurs working in Sands China. The move not only encouraged hands-on learning but also gave women a unique opportunity to demonstrate their entrepreneurial skills and enable career opportunities.
Looking Toward the Future
The Sands Shopping Carnival 2025 also had the backing of the Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT), the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and the Commerce and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM), and was a big hit. With sponsorship from BOC Macau, ICBC (Macau), Bank of Communications Co., Ltd. Macau Branch and BNU the carnival is growing to become an important event that gives back to not only the business sector, but also to the local community and regional tourism.
The Sands Shopping Carnival, with a history of promoting both commerce and community spirit, has ingrained itself as a highlight on Macao’s entertainment and cultural calendar. As the event grows and grows, it will be a fixture on the region’s varied festivals and will attract more participants and memories for all that venture.
