Jakarta will host the ASEAN 50 Parade during Car Free Day on the citys main avenue on Sunday (Aug 27) as an event to commemorate the golden age of The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Arrmanatha Nasir, stated during a press briefing here on Thursday that the parade will showcase costume parade, flag parade, and cultural parade from 10 member countries of ASEAN.

"The main purpose of the parade is to showcase the diversity of ASEAN," Nasir noted.

Participants of the parade will march from the National Monument to M.H. Thamrin Road and Hotel Indonesia Roundabout. There will be also an entertainment stage on Imam Bonjol Street.

Prior to the parade, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had conducted several activities, such as symposium, ASEAN photo contest, election of ASEAN ambassadors, and ASEAN National Youth Conference on Peace and Tolerance, to celebrate the 50th ASEAN anniversary.

"The parade was also aimed to promote Jakarta as the diplomatic capital of ASEAN since the ASEAN Secretariat is here," Director General of ASEAN Cooperation of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jose Tavares remarked.

Two Indonesian famous entertainment figures, Nicholas Saputra and Chelsea Islan, have been named ASEAN ambassadors and will participate in the ASEAN 50 Parade on Sunday morning.

"We want to invite Jakartans and Indonesians to remember that we are part of ASEAN. We are one of the founding fathers of ASEAN, and the capital city of ASEAN is here in Jakarta," Nicholas explained.

Moreover, as the ASEAN ambassadors, Nicholas and Chelsea will convey a message to raise awareness of ASEAN in the society.

ASEAN was established in Aug 8, 1967, by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.

The regional intergovernmental organization now comprises of 10 Southeast Asian states, including Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

Source: ANTARA