Events
Thailand events, festivals, cultural celebrations, and business conferences—stay updated on the latest happenings for travellers and residents alike. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted source for events in Thailand.
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Sponsored How to reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses in Thailand?
Managing medical expenses in Thailand is important as healthcare costs continue to rise. The country’s healthcare system includes both public and private options, but even with the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) for citizens, many still face high out-of-pocket medical expenses....
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Pattaya cancels end of year countdown events
Pattaya officials have cancelled all public gatherings planned over the next few weeks. A Chonburi provincial order has banned the events, including the 3 day Pattaya New Year Countdown Music Festival. All other provincial countdowns have also been cancelled as a precaution against the current outbreak in Samut Sakhon which is now spreading to neighbouring provinces, including Bangkok. The Koh…
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24 hour alcohol ban for provincial elections part of a “ridiculous war on alcohol”
The sale and distribution of alcohol in Thailand, even parties serving alcohol, are banned from Saturday 6pm to Sunday 6pm, all in aid of the Provincial Administration Organisation elections. Unless you’re Thai, you don’t need to worry about the voting although the alcohol ban will affect everyone who lives in the Kingdom. Having a party or a wedding on the day?…
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Covid overshadows New Year’s plans for many – Dusit poll
As if 2020 wasn’t bad enough, many Thais say ringing in the New Year will be overshadowed by Covid-19 concerns, followed by financial woes and the overall world economy. The Suan Dusit Rajabhat University Poll, asked for opinions on the matter from 1,277 people nationwide on December 4 through December 10, to gauge their New Year’s travel plans. Each respondent…
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Geminids meteor shower visible tonight from 8pm
Tonight you may want to step outside from 8pm onwards as one of the most abundant meteor showers will grace the sky. The Geminids can be viewed nationwide tonight starting at 8 and will last until the early hours of tomorrow. The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand says about 120 bright meteor showers per hour will be visible with…
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Shaken but not stirred – Miss Thailand contestants get an unplanned swim | VIDEO
Luckily no one was hurt but these Miss Thailand beauty queens ended up with an unscheduled dunking whilst parading for the cameras in Chiang Mai. A video captures the face-masked girls, all dressed up in the day’s casual uniform, posing for the cameras and the the moment a bridge snaps, plunging the 30 smiling, but bemused, Miss Thailand contestants into…
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New Year countdown events get the “okay,” but under strict health measures
Lockdowns, social distancing, face masks and lots and lots of hand sanitiser… this year has been different to say the least and counting down the last hours of 2020 will be different as well. New Year countdown events have been given the “okay,” but just as long as health safety measures are in place, according to Nattaphon Narkphanit who leads…
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The 2020 Supersports Laguna Phuket Marathon has been run and won, despite all the challenges
Signs of life, combined with a determined event organiser and keen participants. And so the Laguna Phuket Marathon was staged in Phuket this weekend, despite all the challenges. An 8,000 strong field turned out to Run Paradise in Phuket this weekend at the 15th Supersports Laguna Phuket Marathon. Held on December 5 and 6, the ‘new normal’ edition combined stringent…
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China carries out first-ever lunar orbit docking, now heading back to Earth
China has carried out its first-ever lunar orbit docking today with a probe carrying lunar samples collected over the past week during a 48 hour stay on the Moon. The mission is named Chang’e-5, after a mythical Chinese Moon goddess, and is bringing back the first lunar soil samples in over 40 years. The capsule carrying moon rocks and soil…
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Pattaya firework party lights up the weekend | VIDEO
After much anticipation, the Pattaya Fireworks Festival lit up the sky this past weekend, delighting spectators with beautiful night beachside spectacle. More importantly, it was the first time Pattaya was packed with tourists since March this year, albeit mostly Thai tourists. The event program was packed with long fireworks shows with hotels offering promotions for advanced bookings in an attempt…
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Pattaya Fireworks Festival hoped to boost economy over upcoming weekend
The Pattaya Fireworks Festival is approaching with many hoping it will boost the economy over the upcoming weekend. Stacked with long fireworks shows and some hotels offering promotional fares for advance bookings, officials say they hope it will wake up the weekend as Thais and foreigners alike take part in the annual short list festival. The festival runs over November…
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PTT pays millions in compensation after Samut Prakan gas pipeline explosion
The Thai petrol company PTT paid millions of baht in compensation to those affected by the Samut Prakan natural gas pipeline explosion last month which killed 3 people and injured more 60 people. The explosion at an industrial estate in the Bang Bo district killed 3 people, including 2 elderly women, and severely injured 10 people. Another 21 people were…
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Bangkok locations for Loy Krathong – float away the woes of 2020
The Loy Krathong festival is tonight, this year coinciding with Halloween. If you’re living in Bangkok you’re spoiled for choice with launching locations. There is no equivalent word in English for ‘krathong’. You might hear it described as a small boat or vessel. Many shops, market and roadside stalls will display ready-made krathongs, or in parts so you can assemble…
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‘Bread’ krathongs are killing the fish
First it was no polystyrene or steel pins. The push was for natural, sustainable ratings as Thais floated away their woes in the annual celebration. Now there is a new warning that the “natural” kratongs, made from bread and edible ingredients, are causing river pollution. Fish found in the river don’t eat bread and the ingredients have broken down before…
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Some Thai students decide to boycott their graduation
Their Majesties the King and Queen of Thailand will attend Thammasat University’s graduation ceremonies tonight and tomorrow evening. But there’s been a growing contingent of graduates who are boycotting the ceremony as a personal protest in relation to current rallies around Thailand about government and constitutional reform. The night, the biggest night of a student’s schooling, is a special event…
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Phuket’s annual Vegetarian Festival lowers flags, spirits return to the heavens
WARNING! Content below contains photos of self-mutilation that some may find disturbing. The flags on Go Teng poles were lowered on Monday, ending Phuket’s annual Vegetarian Festival and symbolising that the spirits have returned the heavens. The flags are raised at the start of the festivities each year at participating shrines, calling on the spirits to descend from the heavens.…
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Thai PM orders investigation into Samut Prakan gas pipeline explosion, 3 dead
Thai PM Prayut Chan-o-cha is ordering an investigation into yesterday’s explosion of a gas pipeline in Samut Prakan, just south east of central Bangkok. At least 3 people were killed. Among the dead, 2 elderly women were killed, plus at least 28 confirmed injuries when the PTT gas pipeline exploded in the coastal Bang Bo district. The prime minister has also…
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Remembering the Thammasat University Massacre – October 6, 1976
The actual events that preceded the incident started a few weeks before when the tortured corpses of 2 electricity workers were found hanging on September 24, 1976, just north of Bangkok. You also need to put the incident into the context of the mid-1970s and the events swirling around South East Asia. Next door the Americans had just lost the…
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44 years on – the 1976 Thammasat University Massacre
An exhibition has been assembled to commemorate the 44th anniversary of the Thammasat University Massacre that occurred on October 6, 1976. The ‘pop up’ museum has been assembled at the University’s Tha Prachan campus, right next to the front gate of the University, and only metres away from where the events of that fateful day occurred. The exhibition attempts to…
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Deals and discounts for expats at Bangkok wellness tourism event
Expats in Thailand will be offered discounts and promotions at a 2 day fair focusing on health and wellness travel, including deals on flights, accommodation and spa packages. Domestic flights start at 490 baht, and if the booking is made on the spot, customers get a free 15 kilogram baggage allowance. There will also be many deals for health and…
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Pattaya to host eating contest next weekend, everyone welcome
Pattaya will host a big eating contest next weekend with everyone welcome to join in the fun. Registration is now open for 4 person teams as well as individual contestants to participate in “The War Eating Contest 2020 #1.” The event will be held at the Royal Garden Plaza shopping centre with prizes worth more than 100,000 baht. Even organisers…
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Phuket Muay Thai fighter is the first Thai national to compete in UFC
The upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship Fight Night event in Abu Dhabi will feature Thailand’s only national marking her third fight with the UFC, the world’s largest mixed martial arts competition. 24 year old Loma Lookboonme, from Burirram in northeastern Thailand, will fight in the event on October 3, 2020. Loma is a Muay Thai fighter who has adapted her MMA…
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Phuket’s ‘Boat Splash’ welcomes everyone for some fun in the sun
Disabled Sailing Thailand are organising Phuket’s first Boat Splash on October 21 off Phuket’s east coast. An on-water meet-up that’s open to everyone, Boat Splash will take place in the waters between Rang Yai Island off Phuket Boat Lagoon and Royal Phuket Marina, and Cape Yamu. What originally grew from an idea to offer people with disabilities a safe opportunity…
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Bangkok expo planned to fill 1 million job vacancies
Thailand has a lot of job opportunities. About a million. The Labour Ministry is hosting an expo to connect job seekers, especially recent university graduates, with companies. For recent graduates, a new government initiative co-payment system will take care of half the salary. Job Expo Thailand 2020 will run from September 26 to 28 at Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre,…
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Pattaya tipped to stage huge airshow in 2023
Officials in Pattaya confirmed this week that the resort town is slated to hold a major international airshow in 2023 at the U-Tapao airport. The event is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors and to be the biggest-ever airshow in Asia. A spokesman for the Pattaya City Business and Tourism Association confirmed the announcement and said the show…
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Major police presence expected at rally
Authorities yesterday announced that 4 companies of Bangkok police will be deployed to maintain peace and order at the major pro-democracy rally planned for this afternoon at Democracy Monument. The Metropolitan Police Bureau has arranged for 4 companies, 600 officers in total, to be present at the venue. Traffic police will also be dispatched to facilitate movement in the area.…
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Happy birthday to Her Majesty Queen Mother Sirikit
Thailand celebrates Mother’s Day and the birthday of the Queen Mother, HM Queen Sirikit, today. A lot of Thai people will be heading down to their local temples, district and provincial offices to join in ceremonies and other activities to mark her 88th birthday. Many will ‘tam boon’ (make merit) for the Queen Mother on this auspicious day. Queen Sirikit was…
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After outcry, foreigners will be allowed to run in Bangkok Midnight Marathon
The Bangkok Midnight Marathon and its organisers were scorched online yesterday after banning foreigners from entering the race, for reasons not made clear. BMM’s Facebook page and social media accounts were inundated with angry comments. The Thaiger, alone, accumulated some 20,000 people seeing the post and around 170 comments, mostly unhappy with the ban. The BBM – which Thai authorities…
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Bangkok Midnight Marathon 2020 bans foreigners
It’s official. The Bangkok Midnight Marathon 2020 is closed to foreigners. Popular blogger and Samut Prakan school employee Richard Barrow posted the news last night saying… “For some reason, the organisers of this year’s Bangkok Midnight Marathon have decided not to allow foreigners to run. I hope this doesn’t become part of the ‘new normal’.” Unsurprisingly, the social media outrage was…
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Bangkok sees first ever student-led LGBT pride march – VIDEO
After more than a week of anti-government protests across the nation, a different kind of demonstration was held in Bangkok today – Thailand’s first ever student-led “pride march”. Young protesters demanded state teachers stop discriminating against LGBT students, more progressive health and sex education, and a revision of restrictive haircut rules. Students marched along Ratchadamnoen Avenue to the Ministry of…
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Chiang Mai performance artists demonstrate for free speech
PHOTOS by Will Langston With anti-government protests dotting the nation for over a week, performance artists in Chiang Mai took to the streets yesterday evening with a different type of demonstration – in favour of free speech. As the sun began setting, artists at each corner and junction of the old city’s moat could be found waiting to perform. At…
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