Denpasar Festival Draws 117 Participants for Balinese Culture Contests

Denpasar — The newly reported participation total at the 2026 Adiwara Festival was 117 people, including 28 contestants in the traditional-dress category, according to a report published Oct. 22. The festival was held at Universitas Mahasaraswati in Denpasar on Oct. 18.

The annual event was organized by the university’s Jegeg Bagus student activity unit under the theme “Wacana Rupa Budaya.” It used competitions to promote Balinese and Indonesian public-speaking skills, appropriate traditional clothing for temple visits and digital storytelling about Balinese culture.

The 117 participants were distributed across the festival’s contests. The master-of-ceremonies competition drew 79 people: 34 in Balinese and 45 in Indonesian. The creative-video contest had 10 participants, while the provincial traditional-dress competition involved 14 pairs, or 28 people.

Why it matters: temple dress becomes a judged cultural skill

For visitors and foreign residents, the festival’s dress category reflects a practical cultural standard rather than a fashion display alone. Participants were assessed on whether their clothing was appropriate for temple visits, including its accessories, neatness and the etiquette associated with wearing traditional attire at a sacred site.

The competition was aimed at high-school and vocational-school students in Bali. Alongside the dress event, the festival connected language learning with digital media, while the organizers prohibited contestants from using artificial intelligence in the competition work, as indicated by the report’s headline.

The event’s format placed traditional conduct alongside contemporary communication. Its public-speaking contests covered both Indonesian and Balinese, and its video category asked participants to present local culture through digital storytelling. The report did not state a further schedule or next step after the festival.

Sources

• NusaBali — Balinese news report
• baliprov.go.id
• balipost.com