As part of government efforts to fight graft, China will tone down and simplify the glitzy, kitschy and widely watched TV galas beamed throughout the country during the traditional Lunar New Year festival (Jan. 30 through Feb. 5), state media said.
The CCTV Spring Festival Gala, a more than four-hour showcase of comedy, music and dance, has become an entertainment fixture for hundreds of millions of Chinese, spawning copycat shows on regional stations.
This year, Canadian singer Celine Dion was given top billing on the gala, on which she sang My Heart Will Go On and a Chinese song, and every year a host of famous Chinese celebrities put in appearances.
But next year’s event is going to be a more basic affair, the official Xinhua news agency reported, following newly installed President Xi Jinping’s campaign to cast aside extravagance in the name of fighting corruption and winning back public trust.
“Stage lighting and decoration will use the most economical technologies, luxurious decors will be spurned and simplicity will be striven for,” Xinhua said of the main gala.
Beijing Television will also cut spending on lighting, decorations and payments to stars on its show, focusing instead on “the experience of the feelings of local people,” the news agency added.
Shanghai Television will give more space to new and upcoming artists, while Zhejiang Television will no longer allow any A-list celebrities to appear, Xinhua said.
“All of these measures are to control . . . the indiscriminate extravagances of television galas,” a spokesman for China’s TV regulator was quoted as saying.
The new rules echo similar demands made by Xi for officials to simplify their lives since he took over as Communist Party chief in November.