From Ati-Atihan to Panagbenga, Smart levels up festival experience of subscribers

CEBU, Philippines — With the colorful and vibrant Philippine festivals back in full swing, PLDT mobile services arm Smart Communications Inc. has extended its support for some of the most meaningful celebrations during the first quarter of the year to enable subscribers to level up their festival experience.

Smart kicked off the festival season with the annual Ati-Atihan Festival in Aklan. Hailed as the "Mother of All Philippine Festivals," Ati-Atihan honors the Santo Niño (Holy Child or Infant Jesus) through a mix of on-ground and online festivities.

This year’s run was centered on the theme Pagtu-o, Paraad ag Debosyon kay Señor Santo Niño sa Tyempo’t Pandemya.

While the town was decorated with a vibrant food festival, plant fair, street parades and performers, livestreams were also conducted on Kalibo’s Facebook pages to showcase exciting activities such as the Ati-Atihan jingle contest, Patik Battle of the Ati-Atihan bands and Search for Miss Kalibo Ati-Atihan 2022.

To support the grand celebration, Smart’s value brand TNT linked up with local organizers to contribute prizes for contests, promote the festival across different channels, and provide 200 Mbps wired connectivity to ensure smooth, buffer-free livestreaming of the events.

Powering Dinagyang Festival

Smart also helped power the cultural Dinagyang Festival, which commemorates the Santo Niño statue replica which was brought to Iloilo City in 1967. Its name derived from “dagyang”—an Ilonggo term for revelry or merrymaking—Dinagyang is one of the most awarded festivals in the country due to its legacy, popularity and innovation.

Cultivating a sense of fun and wonder, the festival streamed activities such as the motorcade, fashion show, drumbeats contest and online food fest in the official Iloilo Festivals Foundation Facebook and YouTube pages.

To delight festivalgoers, Smart gave away special treats to subscribers who downloaded the GigaLife App and topped up with prepaid offers.

Celebrating Panagbenga and Strawberry Festival

Smart was also present in the month-long Panagbenga Festival (Flower Festival) in Baguio City, Benguet, which is a tribute to the city’s flowers and its rise from the devastation wrought by the 1990 Luzon earthquake.

With the official festival and Baguio Public Information Office Facebook livestream platforms in place, more people were able to enjoy the Session Road in Bloom, open dance competition, fireworks display and more.

Rounding up the Smart-powered celebrations in the first quarter of the year was the Strawberry Festival in La Trinidad, Benguet, where locals and tourists enjoyed the strawberry lane, strawberry cake competition and local music jam, among other exciting activities.

Philippines’ fastest 5G mobile network

Smart subscribers enjoy leveled-up festival experiences powered by the fastest 5G mobile network according to Ookla, the global leader in mobile and broadband network intelligence.

Ookla declared Smart as the country’s fastest 5G mobile network and the winner of its Speedtest Awards™ for Q3-Q4 2021 with a Speed Score of 201.95. Its closest competitor posted a Speed Score of 116.08.

Know more about all the upcoming festivals powered by Smart by following its official social media pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.