Jakarta. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Wednesday evening kicked off the 2023 Jakarta Fair Kemayoran, which he claimed to be Southeast Asia’s largest exhibition.

“The largest, longest-running and most comprehensive exhibition in Southeast Asia is back again this year and is celebrating its 54th anniversary. That means [Jakarta Fair] has been going on for half a century,” Jokowi said at JIEXPO Kemayoran.

According to Jokowi, the exhibition is synonymous with Jakarta’s anniversary, which falls on June 22.

He added: “This is an event that Jakartans would always look forward to each year.”

The president said that Jakarta Fair Kemayoran last year amassed 6.9 million visitors who spent a total of Rp 7.3 trillion ($490.6 million).

 “This is no small number. And I’d like to take this opportunity to wish Jakarta a happy 496th birthday,” ” said Jokowi, himself a former governor of the capital city.

The 2023 Jakarta Fair Kemayoran will run until July 16. Visitors can shop for a wide range of products starting from handicrafts to furniture, while also enjoying music performances and parades.

The Jakarta Fair, which started out as “Pekan Raya Jakarta”, first took place in 1968. It immediately broke the record as the longest-running exhibition after being live for 71 days. Then US President Richard Nixon even visited Pekan Raya Jakarta back in 1969, according to the fair's official website.

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