BTV's Interactive Spring Festival gala options attract young people online

In a joint effort to bring Spring Festival gala celebrations into the 21st century, the first interactive 7-day Internet Spring Festival kicked off Saturday, jointly organized by sina.com, Beijing TV and China Mobile.

The initiative began December 10 and called for people to vote for the 7-day performance lineup both online and via SMS. Participants cast their vote for performers, hosts and directors.

Russian popstar Vitas performed on the first evening, with a signature rendition of Chinese song Sea, My Dreamland, while Li Yugang, 2006 winner of popular TV show Road to Stardom, performed Russian song A Night in a Moscow Suburb.

Saturday night also saw the first non-celebrity take to the stage, with Hei Niu performing Opera No.2 by Vitas.

"There are too many restrictions in the CCTV Spring Festival evening gala and the Internet Spring Festival evening gala gave us the opportunity to choose our favorite," commented an online voter. According to sina.com, people from across the country entered the race to appear onstage, from a 4-year-old girl to a 90-year-old grandmother.

Beijing Associating of Online Media (BAOM) has also launched cooperative efforts over the weekend with eight portals, to help usher in the New Year. Each portal is offering a different way to welcome in the Lunar Year of the Tiger.