The GMT moment has been prepared by the Belitung community and government since long ago. GMT observation points have been prepared, the center is on the coast of Tanjung Kelayang for Belitung and Nyiur Melambai beach for East Belitung. In addition, observation points were also prepared on the hill Titi, Batu Bedil, Mount Peramun, Pantai Serdang and Burung Mandi beach.
Besides preparing the observation points, the government also held an event in the form of art performances in two places, namely Tanjung Kelayang for Belitung Regency and Nyiur Melambai Beach for East Belitung since 2 days before GMT. Aside from local Belitung artists, the stage was also filled by several capital artists such as Syaharani and Dwiki Dharmawan. The event was attended by thousands of surrounding communities and tourists.
This GMT event was widely covered by the mass media both print, online media and television. Some of the leading TV stations such as Metro TV, TV One, Net TV seem to cover the complete event, even bringing special vehicles for live coverage via satellite. Foreign television such as CCN Indonesia, BBC and even Al Jazeera were also present to cover the events of GMT and Belitung in general.
Tourism Minister Arief Yahya is the highest central official present in Belitung. This is his 4th visit to Belitung. The Minister also attended the Belitung Tourism seminar held at the BW Suite hotel on March 8, 2016. The seminar was also attended by Bangka Belitung Governor Rustam Effendi, Belitung Regent Sahani Saleh and top officials in Belitung. At this seminar tourism minister Arief Yahya reported the final preparations for the Special Economic Zone (KEK) in the Tanjung Kelayang region which were expected to be a driver of tourism investment in Belitung.
The vibrant of GMT was also attended by the legendary novelist Belitung, Andrea Hirata who introduced Belitung to the Laskar Pelangi novel and was filmed in 2008. This film is one of the most successful films in Indonesia and watched by more than 6 million people. Besides attending seminars and seeing eclipse events, Andrea also held several interviews with media crews.
On D-day, GMT events occur exactly as planned. People flocked to the observation points, especially in Tanjung Kelayang which was the center of the event attended by the Minister of Tourism Arief Yahya. This chaos occurred since dawn, and caused congestion as far as 3km before the coast of Tanjung Kelayang. The moon began to appear to cover some of the sun since 6.45 WIB. The motorists passing by seemed to start parking their vehicles on the side of the road and began wearing eclipse glasses. This event took place continuously, until the sun was completely covered by the moon at precisely 7.22 WIB. At that time, the stars appear around the sun with a beautiful corona circle around the shadow of the moon. The sky became dark, like after sunset. This event lasted approximately 2 minutes. Which was a little disappointing was that morning there were many clouds, so the sun was seen covered by thin clouds. This is a lot of disappointment, especially the photographers who are ready to record with complete equipment.
GMT provides many benefits for Belitung. Nationally, Belitung is the location of the most covered GMT by the media, which not only tells about eclipses but also the overall potential of Belitung tourism. The atmosphere of Belitung is really different, it can be seen from the number of foreign tourists going back and forth in tourist attractions including on the streets riding motorbikes.
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