Pattaya, Thailand-
Organizers of a skateboard-centric event held in front of Central Marina Shopping Mall in North Pattaya yesterday deemed the event a success, bringing many local residents, ex-pats, and domestic tourists to the “Bikini Surf Skate Day”.
The event was held at Central Marina Shopping Mall, located near Soi 3 in Pattaya, and also featured a “mini-parade” of skaters skateboarding on the streets nearby the mall. The event started around 4:00 P.M. and continued until late with DJs and mini-concerts from local Thai artists.
The event was organized by Mr. Boonanan Pattanasin, President of the Pattaya Business and Tourism Association, Mr. Kwanchai Boonaree, General Manager of Central Marina Shopping Center, and Mr. Rattanachai Sutthidechanai, an expert in culture and a tourism representative for the Central and Eastern Region of Thailand. The Pattaya Board Rider group also was a major organizer of the event, which was free admission although featured a variety of food and skateboard equipment-related vendors.
Pattaya Mayor Sonthaya Khunplume presided over the event, stating that he was excited to be hosting an event that would help bring back many domestic tourists to the area with a lack of foreign tourists due to the Covid-19 pandemic at this time.
Skateboarding has seen a significant rise in overall interest in Pattaya (and Thailand) over the past several months, driven by many influential Instagram Thai celebrities online. As a result, multiple skate parks are either under construction or now in place throughout the city and this is the second event in several weeks featuring skateboarding as part of the event. The first was a Cars and Coffee event held last weekend which featured skateboarding as well at the Bali Hai Pier.
You can see a short video of the event below: