TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A record number of countries have signed up for the fifth edition of LUCfest that will take place as usual in November, in the southern city of Tainan.

The festival will be held both physically and online this year due to the pandemic. Though there were worries that bands would not sign up for the event because of COVID, this fear proved unfounded.

With 667 submissions from 40 countries on six continents, the organizer said they were surprised that more foreign bands wanted to take part than local groups.

It will be the first time in many years that bands from places like Bhutan, Egypt, Luxembourg, India, Paraguay, Ukraine, and Venezuela, will appear. The full lineup will be announced in September, and in addition to the performances, there will be workshops and forums with international artists.