Fornas VIII 2025 Delivers NTB Colossal Dance To The State Palace

The colossal dance which was featured at the opening ceremony of the VIII 2025 National Community Sports Festival (Fornas) in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) was asked by the Presidential Palace to celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia on August 17, 2025.

The Governor of NTB, Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, said that the dance received appreciation from the Presidential Palace after the opening ceremony of the 2025 Fornas VIII which took place on Saturday, July 26, 2025.

"We have held a meeting. The NTB Provincial Government (Pemprov) will fully support the delivery of 200 colossal dance personnel that describe the history of struggle and culture," he said.

The colossal dance involving 500 NTB dancers was first featured on the opening night of Fornas VIII 2025. The event was opened by the Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY).

The head of the NTB Cultural Park, Lalu Suryadi Mulawarman, who also acts as a director and choreographer for the colossal dance, did not expect and was touched by the invitation to a summons to the Presidential Palace.

"I thought it would appear next year. It turned out that the Governor contacted me earlier and informed me that we would appear at the Presidential Palace at the 80th Indonesian Independence Day this year with 200 dancers," he said.

Not only received praise directly, the video clip of the appearance also went viral on social media and became a byword among the public.

This invitation to the Palace is a tangible form of appreciation for NTB's success in displaying local cultural wealth packaged in a magnificent and colossal performance.

The FORnas VIII 2025 will be officially closed by the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia (RI) Gibran Rakabuming Raka on Friday, August 1, 2025, at the former Mataram Selaparang Airport, Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara.

The biennial public sports parties were held in seven areas of NTB, namely Mataram, Central Lombok, West Lombok, East Lombok, North Lombok, Sumbawa, and Bima. This is the first history of Fornas being held in six districts and one municipality.

Then Muhamad Iqbal admitted that there were still shortcomings in the implementation of this event. However, this can be a valuable lesson for the region, which in the future wants to hold another big event, both nationally and internationally.

"Of course there are still shortcomings here and there considering the preparation time for Fornas VIII which should have been done three months and 10 days a year. However, the success of this event made the committee more confident," he said.

As the host, West Nusa Tenggara closed the National Forum by collecting 185 medals. It consists of 47 gold, 66 silver, and 72 bronze.