Jakarta's Car Free Day Comes Alive with Cultural Parade Ahead of 500th Anniversary

The car-free day along Jalan Sudirman-Thamrin was enlivened by a cultural parade from the Jakarta World Folklore Festival today, drawing crowds of residents to the Bundaran HI area. The procession, which started at the Patung Sudirman, featured participants from seven countries who performed traditional dances near the Tosari bus stop and the Bundaran HI roundabout. Representatives from the Philippines, Greece, Russia, Romania, Poland, South Korea, and Indonesia, represented by a group from Cilegon, Banten, showcased their heritage, including a Syrtos dance from Greece and the Bandrong dance from Indonesia. The cultural parade was held to welcome Jakarta’s 500th anniversary, with distinctive Betawi ornaments and ondel-ondel effigies displayed on the main stage. Karomah, a visitor from Pasuruan, East Java, expressed her delight at witnessing the parade during her first visit to the car-free day. She said she felt excited and proud to see traditional Betawi culture highlighted amidst the city’s skyscrapers. Her child, Muhammad Agha Bimuka, was surprised to see foreigners in traditional attire while looking for the Monas monument and the Thamrin Nine complex. He found the experience of watching the parade and taking photos with ondel-ondel very memorable. Said Rachmat, President of CIOFF Indonesia, stated the Jakarta World Folklore Festival is a collaboration between the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government and CIOFF Indonesia to celebrate Jakarta’s upcoming 500th anniversary in 2027. He noted that Jakarta’s global city ranking has improved from 74th to 71st under the current leadership and expressed hope that international activities like this festival would help Jakarta break into the top 50 global cities by 2030. Hendrik A Rum Sujiwati, owner of Sanggar Puspa Arum from Cilegon, said her students were very enthusiastic about performing at the festival and enjoyed making friends with participants from countries like South Korea and Poland.