The 21st Malaysia National Lion Dance Championship fills Arena of Stars on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September 2026. Semi-finals start from 10am on Saturday. The final starts from 12pm on Sunday. This is the national high-stilt title, not a hotel atrium show. Drums, poles and timed acrobatics, with troupes that already survived regional heats.
Resorts World Genting's page is the booking source. TicketCharge-style third-party listings exist, but the operator sells through book.rwgenting.com. Sales opened 23 July 2026. A RM4 processing fee sits on top of every ticket. Every person needs a ticket, including infants.
How the field is built
Teams came through four zonal preliminaries: Central, Northern, Southern and Eastern. The top three from each zone go through, plus the eight overall highest-ranking teams. That mix is what you see on the Arena floor. The operator also published a semi-finalist PDF on the championship page if you want names before you buy.
Genting has hosted a separate Genting World Lion Dance Championship since 1994. The wall-of-fame page on rwgenting.com treats that international series as 15 editions old, with PDFs on the history of lion dance in Malaysia. The September 2026 show is the national championship staged in the same hall. Do not mix the two when you search for results later.
Ticket prices as listed on 6 September
The official table is a little awkward on the two-day column, so check the live booking links before you pay. One-day numbered PS1 seats are RM129 for the Saturday semi-final and RM248 for the Sunday final. Free-seating PS2 is RM99 on Saturday and RM138 on Sunday. The same table lists a two-day pass at RM268 on the Saturday row and RM168 on the Sunday row. Book the labelled pass you actually want rather than assuming the cheaper figure applies to both days.
Children shorter than 95cm can use a RM50 child ticket without a seat. Taller children pay the published adult scale. Tickets are not refundable or exchangeable. Photography and video are banned in the hall. Cameras, video cameras and tablets are not allowed in. Noisemakers, balloons, signs larger than A4 and laser pointers are out. Third-party collection needs an authorisation letter, a photocopy of the paying card and the purchaser's MyKad or passport.
That weekend on the hill
26 and 27 September is a stacked Genting weekend. Sunset by NEON Chapter 2 runs outdoors at the highlands the same two days, 18-plus, with GA from RM348. SkyWorlds Lanternverse also has night sessions on 25 and 26 September. Arena of Stars will already have hosted Kenny Bee on 19 September. If you want a hotel next to the hall, First World Hotel and Genting Grand book out first on championship weekends. Awana SkyWay from the lower station is still the least painful way up if you are not driving.
The hall itself sits inside the hilltop resort, not down in Gohtong Jaya. Give yourself time after the SkyWay. Saturday starts at 10am, which is earlier than the usual 6pm concert call. Eat before you go in. There is no re-entry culture like a festival paddock. Latecomers for concerts here are often held until a break. Treat the championship the same way and sit before 10am Saturday or 12pm Sunday.
Practical Details
- Dates: Semi-final Saturday 26 September 2026 from 10am. Final Sunday 27 September 2026 from 12pm
- Time: Daytime hall sessions, not a 6pm concert
- Venue: Arena of Stars, Resorts World Genting, Genting Highlands, Pahang 69000
- Nearest transit: Awana SkyWay to the hilltop resort. No MRT
- Price: PS1 RM129 (semi) / RM248 (final). PS2 RM99 (semi) / RM138 (final). Child under 95cm RM50. Plus RM4 processing fee
- Website: 21st Malaysia National Lion Dance Championship 2026
