Daidogei World Cup in Shizuoka 2015 Set for Oct. 31 - Nov. 3

- Asia's Major Street Performers Festival -

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Oct 20, 2015, 01:00 ET

SHIZUOKA, Japan, Oct. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Shizuoka City will hold the 24th Daidogei World Cup, one of the largest street performers festivals in Asia, from Saturday, Oct. 31 to Tuesday, Nov. 3 (a national holiday). A total of 97 teams of street performers from 16 countries, including 28 teams from abroad, will participate in the festival. Their performances at 39 locations will promise to build a sense of unity between the street artists and spectators. Sumpu Castle Park, the main venue of the event, is a 10-minute walk from JR Shizuoka Station.

(Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8rQGOmFADU)
(Photo: http://prw.kyodonews.jp/opn/release/201510194723/)

The highlight of the festival this year is the World Cup Competition, in which 14 invited teams from overseas will vie for the top spot. Citizen judges selected from among applicants through a unique "toss in the hat'' formula will choose the champion.

To mark the 400th anniversary of the passing of shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu who established the Edo shogunate in 1603, the city will hold a two-day special program during the festival to showcase a night-time "Grand Spectacle Show" by the globally famous "Theater Tol" at the Sumpu Castle Park.

The climate in Shizuoka during the annual festival is mild and hospitable. Sumpu Castle Park is replete with stone walls, the moat and the East Gate and other historical features. Nihondaira hill and Miho-no-Matsubara Pine Yard, a part of the Cultural World Heritage Site of Mt. Fuji, are not so far away.

(Overview of Daidogei World Cup in Shizuoka 2015)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 31 to Tuesday, Nov. 3 (national holiday)
Performances: 10:30-20:30 (Starting and closing times change daily)
Venues: Sumpu Castle Park and other nearby locations in downtown area. (The travel time from Tokyo to Shizuoka by Shinkansen bullet train is about 1 1/2 hours)
Organizer: Daidogei World Cup Executive Committee

Contact: Secretariat of Daidogei World Cup Executive Committee
Tel: +81-54-205-9840 (10:00-18:00 on weekdays)

Official website:

http://www.daidogei.com/ (Japanese)
http://www.daidogei.com/english/ (English)

(Special guests)
Lost Locos! Ole! (U.S./Spain), the 2014 World Cup champion

(Grand Spectacle Show)
Theater Tol (Belgium/the Netherlands/Japan/Italy/Germany)
Dates: Saturday, Oct. 31 and Sunday, Nov. 1, beginning at 18:00 (Admission free)

SOURCE City of Shizuoka