Tongan passport holders will be able to enter a major exhibition of Pacific art in London for free.
Tongans, other Pacific Islands and New Zealand passport holders are being granted free access to the Oceania display at the Royal Academy of Arts.
Once inside they will be able to see about 200 works of Pacific art.
The Oceania exhibition marks 250 years since James Cook’s voyage to the Pacific and includes pieces collected by the explorer during his voyages.
Tonga is a supporting partner of the Oceania exhibition and several Tongan items are on display.
The exhibition, which has been widely praised by the British press, will be open until December 10.
It will then move to Paris and re-open at the Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac museum on March 12, 2019.
Dancers from the kingdom performed the Lakalaka at the opening ceremony.
During the opening, Tonga’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Hon. Fane Tupouvava’u Tu’ivakanō met the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle.
As Kaniva news reported recently, the Duchess and Prince Harry will visit Tonga later this month.
The royal couple will fly into Tonga from Fiji on October 25 and will be met by Her Royal Highness, Princess Angelika Lātūfuipeka.
They will then attend a private audience with King Tupou VI and Queen Nanasipauʻu followed by an official reception and dinner at Consular House.
The main points
- Dancers from Tonga performed the Lakalaka at the opening of a major exhibition of Pacific art at the Royal Academy of Arts in London recently.
- Tonga is a supporting partner of the exhibition.
For more information
Oceania, Royal Academy, review: an astonishing blast of a show
