Bilibili New Year's Eve Gala Fuses East & West in Visionary Cultural Spectacle
SHANGHAI, Jan. 3, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Bilibili Inc. ("Bilibili" or the "Company"), an iconic brand and leading video community for young people in China, hosted its fifth consecutive New Year Gala, "The Most Beautiful Night of 2023," on December 31, 2023, ringing in the new year with its vibrant community of young users in China and worldwide in a spirit of community and celebration. The peak popularity index of the livestream reached 344 million, the highest in the past 5 years. Within 24 hours of broadcasting, the Gala had accumulated nearly 400,000 bullet chats, and total views surpassed 100 million.
The highly anticipated evening presented an exciting lineup of top artists from China and abroad, seamlessly blending Chinese and international tastes with flair. By incorporating renowned intellectual properties (IPs) into the Gala, Bilibili created cultural resonance that echoed deeply through shared memories while spotlighting Chinese culture on a global stage. The show has also united audiences of different ages by paying tribute to cultural icons, revisiting classic tunes and capturing viral trends from the Bilibili community of the past year.
Global Artists: Bridging Borders with Art and Culture
Building on the successes of the past four years, Bilibili has further upgraded its star-studded international lineup this year, bringing together renowned artists and influencers to treat its youth community to a visual and audio feast. Through this dazzling cultural spectacle, Bilibili aspires to bring global youth together and foster connections worldwide.
Among them, pop girl group XG delivered their China debut and performed live renditions of their chart-topping tracks "GRL GVNG" and "Left Right". Having amassed over 57 million video views on Bilibili, XG has cultivated an enormous fanbase around the world. International pop sensation Ava Max brought her infectious dance hits, and expressed excitement to perform for Chinese fans for the very first time. In a special treat for Chinese viewers, world-famous EDM producer Alan Walker remixed the song of "Friendship Lasts Forever", a Mandarin version of the classic Auld Lang Syne. By breathing new life into this timeless folk song, Alan Walker and Chinese vocalists created an emotional highlight for the new year's night.
The event also brought together beloved celebrities among Chinese and Chinese-speaking communities across generations. Mandopop legends David Tao (Tao Zhe), Stefanie Sun (Sun Yanzi) and Power Station, took the stage alongside popular and emerging artists Xu Song, Yoga Lin (Lin Youjia), Leah Dou, and Zhou Shen, representing both the established vanguard and contemporary voices defining the Chinese music landscape.
By integrating celebrities from both East and West, the Gala highlighted Bilibili's role in connecting young people worldwide who share common passions.
Nostalgic Tributes to Beloved Pop Culture IPs
Beyond the lineup of celebrities, the Gala paid a heartwarming tribute to beloved IPs integral to Bilibili users' childhoods and coming-of-age journeys. A medley of classic cartoon theme songs brought iconic characters like Mickey Mouse, Tom & Jerry, Bakusou Kyoudai Let's & Go!! and Ultraman to life on stage.
Commemorating the 20th anniversary of Pirates of the Caribbean, two Bilibili creators – Eliott Tordo, known as "French Erhu (a Chinese musical instrument) Knight" and Filip Jancik, known as "Violinist Filip" – delivered a show-stopping fusion performance of the soundtrack from the iconic movie series, seamlessly blending elements of Chinese folk, flamenco, and Hollywood swashbuckling.
Additional highlights of the night included a creative dance performance of characters from Dragon Ball along with Takahashi Hiroki singing the soundtrack of the cartoon, in celebration of the series' 40th anniversary in 2024. Pop singer Jake Miller's performance brought the audience's memories back to the latest Spider Man film sensation, with eye-popping 3D effects inspired by the movie. Disney also received special recognition on its 100th anniversary, and for Disneyland Shanghai's opening of Zootopia World.
By celebrating stories and characters that hold strong sentimental value to generations of users, Bilibili demonstrated its commitment to honoring fandoms old and new. More than entertainment, these shows validated users' lifelong passion for the IPs that shaped their youth.
Showcasing Chinese Culture to Global Youth
The Gala was also filled with creative integrations of Chinese cultural elements, deftly fusing tradition with modernity. The innovative blending of pop culture with Chinese style not only honored traditional culture but made it feel relevant and accessible to young audiences.
Top virtual singer Luo Tianyi donned a variety of traditional ethnic minority garments and performed Chinese-style songs with Gong Linna, a pioneering Chinese fusion singer. The popular dance drama Red Chamber, which has been touring China in 2023, also joined the Gala with an excerpt from the show, enabling modern audiences to rediscover the timeless masterpiece anew.
In a novel East-meets-West fusion, musicians wearing Hogwarts house robes infused with Chinese characteristics put a unique spin on the Harry Potter theme song using traditional Chinese instruments. The performance was inspired by a series of creative videos in the Bilibili community themed "What if Hogwarts was located in China". As a wildly beloved fantasy among Chinese audiences, Harry Potter was the inspiration for a sensational performance on the first Bilibili New Year's Eve Gala, with world-class pianist Richard Clayderman playing the theme song of the series.
From start to finish, the Gala wove Chinese cultural threads into the fabric of diverse global entertainment. This crafted an inclusive experience that introduced Chinese culture and heritage to youth worldwide on their own cultural terms.
A Window to Chinese Youth Culture
Bilibili has stayed true to producing China's most youth-oriented gala over the past five years. It has become a tradition for many Chinese young people to gather together and watch Bilibili's New Year's Eve Gala on the last day of the year. The Gala is also an effective window to observe the latest trends of Chinese youth culture and discover content that resonates with the young generation. As the Gala ushers in 2024, it demonstrates the platform's continued commitment to leading the pulse of Chinese youth culture, blending China's traditions with boundary-pushing creativity.
ABOUT BILIBILI INC
Bilibili is an iconic brand and a leading video community with a mission to enrich the everyday life of young generations in China. Bilibili offers a wide array of video-based content with All the Videos You Like as its value proposition. Bilibili builds its community around aspiring users, high-quality content, talented content creators, and the intense emotional bond among them. Bilibili pioneered the "bullet chatting" feature, a live commenting function that has transformed the viewing experience by displaying the thoughts and feelings of other audiences viewing the same video. It has now become the welcoming home of diverse interests for young generations in China and the frontier to promote Chinese culture worldwide.
SOURCE BILIBILI
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