Solo Batik Carnival (SBC) is one of the tourism icons of Bengawan City. Raising batik creations as a wealth of local culture combined with carnivals, the event is always held every year and successfully attracts the attention of the public. This is evidenced by the crowds of spectators, when the SBC participants held a carnival along the protocol roads once a year. Magnificent costumes certainly invite their own interest for anyone who sees them, while symbolizing creativity in displaying batik cloth in the form of carnival costumes. Not just limited to the clothes. This year, the SBC Foundation again prepared a similar carnival to enliven the Solo tourism event. Even the organizers promised something different compared to similar events in previous years. The chairman of the SBC Foundation, Susanto, explained that the SBC XII would involve participants from 11 Asean member countries. Including Indonesia. “We took the theme of Suvarna Bhumi the Golden of Asean,” Susanto said. In addition to Indonesia, the countries that will join in the excitement of the SBC XII this year are the Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar, Brunei Darussalam, Laos and Vietnam. “It’s time for SBC XII to become a tourist attraction, not only in Indonesia but also in Southeast Asia.”. The theme of Suvarna Bhuni the Golden of Asean was interpreted by the organizer as the Golden Country. That meaning is in line with the wishes of various parties, so that SBC starts going international. “We want SBC to be valuable and sought after by many people. Not only interested in local people, but also internationally, “said Susanto. He even promised, the nuances of the participating countries would be seen from the costumes of each participant. Each delegation is invited to display their country’s unique character, in carnival costumes. “Surely the costume wears a magnificent batik motif. “You can see the participants competing creatively in displaying their costume designs,” said Susanto. While mentioning a number of examples, such as the Malaysian delegation which will present the costumes of the Petronas twin towers or the Thai delegation planning to exhibit elephant characters, Susanto also invited the audience to witness the beauty of the SBC held on July 27. The carnival route starts from Jalan Bhayangkara to Surakarta City Hall. “The participants from Solo had attended a workshop for four months. This workshop is one of the strengths of SBC, to involve the community in every carnival. So the SBC viewers are those who design their own costumes, with the help of instructors, “explained Susanto. SBC Foundation Management Lia Imelda added that SBC had actually been held overseas recently. “Yesterday we were invited by the Indonesian Embassy in Laos to appear in the celebration of the 60-year bilateral relations between Indonesia and Laos. There, the SBC costume invited the audience’s admiration, because the participants’ clothes remained beautiful even though they were still wrapped in batik cloth. So this batik creation remains an attraction that distinguishes it from ordinary batik clothes, “explained Lia. The City Government hopes that SBC XII can popularize Solo as a tourism destination in Indonesia. “We want the prestige of tourism in Solo to be elevated, according to our desire to show that Solo is a creative city of performing arts,” said Mayor FX Hadi Rudyatmo. The tendentus statement of the number one person in the city of Solo would be reasonable, given the fact that Solo had just won the title of Creative City 2019 for the performing arts subsector of the Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf). Likewise with the staging of the SBC delegation in Singapore and the United States, before being invited to perform in Laos. “So in the future, we want Solo to become more famous overseas as an Indonesian tourist destination. So far, tourists still refer to Bali if they talk about it, “Rudy said, as the Mayor usually greeted. Head of Tourism Office Hasta Gunawan also hopes that SBC will be able to boost tourist visits to Bengawan City. Moreover, SBC is said to be the top 100 national tourism event in Indonesia.