by Mary Papapouliou

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On September 22 – 24, Asia had its own celebration at Asia Fest 2023 in Bucharest! The city's National Arena was transformed into a meeting point for those who love Eastern culture, while the highlight of the Festival was none other than MIYAVI's unique live performance, being one of his European tour destinations to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his career.

Because the borders of Greece are no longer enough, Greek Otaku Radio was there to bring you the atmosphere of the festival and the vibes of the concert.

 

Asia Fest

Starting with Asia Fest (which turned 10 this year), what we encountered was the very definition of a festival. Open space, an alley full of booths right and left, decorated with ribbons, a mini stage with performances, music, and a 500 square meter area just with food! Lots of food! 

The booths could provide you with almost anything: Asian snacks and soft drinks, anime merchandise, Asian inspired decorations, Japanese kimonos, Korean beauty products, Henna tattoos and much more.

        

Various events were held on the mini stage, such as J-Rock, K-Pop performances, competitions, traditional dances and presentations with traditional Asian costumes. Of course, several workshops for all interests took place during the three days.

But let's talk about the food. When you are in a place with more than 12 cuisines from the East and Asia, what would you try first? Unfortunately we couldn't try them all (there is a limit to the stomach), but we definitely ate a lot! We were informed that it was the biggest Asian cuisine area ever organized in Romania. The dishes you could find were originated from India, Turkey, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, South Korea, China, Japan, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and other Asian countries.

It would be very interesting to know the number of visitors who attended the festival, as despite the fact that it was held outdoors, it was literally packed! The flow of people started from the morning hours and continued until the closing of the festival. We were also impressed by the fact that we met several visitors from other countries.

 

 MIYAVI Concert

On Saturday, September 23, Bucharest was the 2nd stop of MIYAVI's European tour titled "20th & Beyond Tour 2023" - Return of the Samurai Guitarist. The live performance took place on an external stage, specially organised outside the National Arena.

Even though fans started to line up very early, the organization was excellent and the concert started right on time, without any delays!

As for MIYAVI, he proved to everyone that he is worthy of the title 'Samurai Guitarist'. As a solo artist, he filled the stage so much with his presence that sometimes it gave you the impression that the stage was not enough for him. The energy he brings out during the live performance is amazing.

            

The live opened with the song "Selfish Love -Aishitekure, Aishiteru Kara-", while the setlist included both new and old popular tracks from throughout his career. We also loved an instrumental session he gave us halfway through the concert with the songs "Under the Same Sky" and "Kimi ni Negai wo".

For those who don't know, MIYAVI is a Goodwill Ambassador of the UNHCR and it's something he shared with us during the concert, along with his thoughts on refugee issues. He is an artist who deserves respect not only for his music, but also for his contribution to social matters.

The live started and ended on time. As soon as the clock hit 21:30, MIYAVI said goodbye to us, but this farewell didn't last long, since it was time for an encore. He chose to close the concert with the songs: "Subarashikikana", "Kono Sekai -WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD-", "Under the Same Sky", "The Others", and "DAY 1".

The encore lasted about half an hour, which means MIYAVI gave us a total of 2 unique hours on stage. You couldn't ask for anything more.

You can find more photos from the live at the following link:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=GreekOtakuRadio&set=a.790981199699692

 

Many thanks to Asia Fest for the cooperation and hospitality.

May we meet again