At least 26 foreign cities will send delegations to the second International Cultural Industry Fair (ICIF) to be held in Shenzhen in May, the city's Vice Mayor Yan Xiaopei told a meeting Monday (March 27).

More than 84 percent of the exhibition area - or 88,280 square meters - has been booked. A total of 480 domestic companies along with 42 others from abroad have already inked deals with the ICIF organizing committee, the vice mayor said. The organizers estimate that some 3,000 buyers and 20,000 members of the public will attend the fair.

Foreign cities and provinces sending delegations to the fair include Nuremberg in Germany, Vienne in France, two cities in Washington State in the United States and others in South Korea, Japan, Belgium, and Egypt.

The organizers offer special rates and other concessions for foreign buyers and cultural industry insiders, and have sent emails to more than 11,000 potential buyers, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported yesterday.

The exhibition will be divided into different halls at the International Convention and Exhibition Center under the themes of vocational education, creative design, media technology, Chinese publications, showbiz and entertainment, cartoon and computer games, handicrafts, calligraphy and paintings. There will also be a trading section at the fair to facilitate transactions.

Apart from the main venue, organizers have set up four sub-venues in Dafen Village, which is famous for its oil painting, Curio City, Shuibei Jewelry City, and the Art Exhibition Center.

The organizers will also arrange forums, auctions, and awards ceremonies for art and craft on the sidelines of the fair, which will be held from May 18 to 21.

Also, an ICIF art festival will be held from the end of April to the end of May, offering local residents a rich collection of performances such as dramas, traditional Chinese opera, as well as an Australian movie week.

Editor: Yan