Singapore Day

Last updated

Singapore Day is an event organised by the Overseas Singaporean Unit under the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (Singapore) to engage Overseas Singaporeans and their families. Held in cities with a significant community of Overseas Singaporeans, it is a single-day annual event designed to give Singaporeans a "slice of home while overseas" through food, performances, information updates on the situation in Singapore and career options to entice them to return to the country. Political leaders would often make unannounced visits, such as Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's visit to the London event in 2014. [1]

Contents

As of 2015, Singapore Day has been held eight times in five cities, starting with New York City in 2007. While the event has seen generally good turn-outs of between 5,000 and 8,000 with positive reviews amongst visitors, its multi-million price-tag to stage each event has come under scrutiny in Singapore where the costs involved were questioned in parliament. [2] A controversy over admission to the 2013 event in Sydney also erupted when a local Australian accused the event of being "racist" and "outrageous", despite the event being a ticketed event and the man was turned away as he held no ticket. [2]

Programmes

Singaporean cuisine comprising local hawker fare is prepared and served at the event by Singaporean hawkers.

Singaporean artistes and performers who have participated in Singapore Day include MediaCorp artistes, local comedians Hossan Leong and Jack Neo, singers Kit Chan and Rui En, rapper Sheikh Haikel, indie-rock band Cashew Chemists, musical cabaret group Dim Sum Dollies, blogger mrbrown, actor Gurmit Singh and acoustic and percussion bands like The Great Spy Experiment, Jack and Rai and Bloco Singapura.

Recruitment booths and showcase displays set up on the event grounds allow Singaporeans abroad to keep abreast with the latest developments and career opportunities back in Singapore.

Years

YearDateVenue
2007April 21 Wollman Rink, Central Park, New York City, Flag of the United States.svg  United States
2008October 4 Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne, Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
2009April 29 Hampton Court Palace, London, Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
2011April 16 Century Park, Shanghai, Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China
2012April 14 Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York, Flag of the United States.svg  United States
2013October 12 Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
2014March 29 Victoria Park, London, Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
2015April 11 Century Park, Shanghai, Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China
2016September 24 Pier 70, San Francisco, Flag of the United States.svg  United States
2017September 9 Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
2018March 24 Greenwich Peninsula, London, Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
2019April 13 Century Park, Shanghai, Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China

The first Singapore Day in 2007 was targeted at a community residing in New York City and other neighbouring cities and states such as Washington, D.C., New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It was held on 21 April 2007 and attracted an unexpectedly high response. As a result, the venue was shifted from Bryant Park to the Wollman Rink in Central Park. Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng was in New York for the event. [3] 6,000 people attended the event and which included New Yorkers.

Singapore Day 2008 was held in Melbourne, on October 4, with a turnout of over 10,000 people.

Singapore Day 2009 was held at the Hampton Court Palace to the south-west of London, on 25 April 2009. Over 12,000 people, from various parts of Europe, turned up for this outdoor event. [4]

Singapore Day 2011 was held at the Century Park in Pudong District, Shanghai, on 16 April 2011. The event had attracted over 5,500 Singaporeans and their families from all over China. [5]

Controversies

Allegations of racial discrimination at events

A man wrote to a radio talkshow host on 2GB claiming that he and others were turned away from a public area in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, where the celebration of Singapore day was held in 2013, because they were of Caucasian appearance, whilst people of Asian appearance were allowed in without checking. [6] Material for the event specified that only Singaporeans and their families could attend. [7] [8]

Replying to queries from Yahoo News, the organizers said the event was a pre-registered and ticketed event for crowd control purposes, and that registered Singaporeans were allowed to bring non-Singaporean friends and family members. [7] The acting executive director of the Botanic Gardens responded to questions from the Daily Telegraph by stating that the event had caused community concern and that they would be reviewing whether it is appropriate for the Botanic Gardens to be involved with Singapore Day in the future. [9]

Related Research Articles

Singapore City-state in maritime Southeast Asia

Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Riau Islands (Indonesia) to the south, and the South China Sea to the east. The country's territory is composed of one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet, the combined area of which has increased by 25% since the country's independence as a result of extensive land reclamation projects. It has the third greatest population density in the world. With a multicultural population and recognising the need to respect cultural identities, Singapore has four official languages; English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil. English is the lingua franca. Multiracialism is enshrined in the constitution and continues to shape national policies in education, housing, and politics.

Tourism in Singapore Impact of tourism in Singapore

Tourism in Singapore is a major industry and contributor to the Singaporean economy, attracting 18.5 million international tourists in 2018, more than three times Singapore's total population. It is also environmentally friendly, and maintains natural and heritage conservation programs. Along with this, it also has one of the world's lowest crime rates. As English is the dominant one of its four official languages, it is generally easier for tourists to understand when speaking to the local population of the country, for example, when shopping. Transport in Singapore exhaustively covers most, if not all public venues in Singapore, which increases convenience for tourists. This includes the well-known Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system. Singapore is the 5th most visited city in the world, and 2nd in Asia-Pacific.

Singapore Botanic Gardens Tropical garden located in Singapore

The Singapore Botanic Gardens is a 163-year-old tropical garden located at the fringe of the Orchard Road shopping district in Singapore. It is one of three gardens, and the only tropical garden, to be honoured as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Botanic Gardens has been ranked Asia's top park attraction since 2013, by TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice Awards. It was declared the inaugural Garden of the Year, International Garden Tourism Awards in 2012, and received Michelin's three-star rating in 2008.

Carols by Candlelight

Carols by Candlelight is an annual Australian Christmas tradition that was popularised in Melbourne in 1938. The tradition has since spread around the world. It involves people gathering, usually outdoors in a park, to sing carols by candlelight, featuring live performances by both national and international celebrities accompanied by a symphony orchestra.

Singapore Symphony Orchestra

The Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Singapore. Its principal concert venue is the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. The orchestra also gives concerts at the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall, and performs about 100 concerts per year. The orchestra was first established In 1978 with Choo Hoey its resident director. The orchestra's music director from 1997 to 2019 was Shui Lan, and Hans Graf as its Chief Conductor from 2020 onward.

Singapore's first public LGBT pride festival, IndigNation, took place during the month of August in 2005, with a second annual IndigNation in August 2006. Previous gay celebrations, exemplified by the Nation parties held annually in Singapore since 2001, were private commercial events held for LGBT recreation, but were also socio-political statements of significance in Singapore gay history and milestones in Singapore's human rights record.

Singapore Repertory Theatre

Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) is a non-profit professional theatre company founded in 1993. It is located at the KC Arts Centre – Home of SRT at 20 Merbau Road, Singapore. The current Artistic Director is Gaurav Kripalani while its managing director is Charlotte Nors.

Singapore passport

A Singapore passport is a travel document and passport issued to citizens and nationals of the Republic of Singapore. It enables the bearer to exit and re-enter Singapore freely; travel to and from other countries in accordance with visa requirements, and secure assistance from Singapore consular officials abroad, if necessary.

Culture of Singapore Culture of an area

The culture of Singapore has changed greatly over the millennia. Its contemporary modern culture consists of a combination of Asian and European cultures, mainly by Malay, South Asian, East Asian and Eurasian influences. Singapore has been dubbed as a country where "East meets West", "Gateway to Asia" and a "Garden city".

Van Tuong Nguyen, baptised Caleb, was an Australian from Melbourne, Victoria convicted of drug trafficking in Singapore. A Vietnamese Australian, he was also addressed as Nguyen Tuong-van阮祥雲 in the Singaporean media, his name in Vietnamese custom, as well as in most Asian customs.

Pink Dot SG

Pink Dot SG is an annual event that started in 2009 in support of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community in Singapore. Attendees of Pink Dot events gather to form a "pink dot" to show support for inclusiveness, diversity and the freedom to love. In addition to the titular formation, Pink Dot events usually feature concert performances and booths sponsored by organizations supporting the LGBT community and cause.

Singaporean Australians

Singaporean Australians are Australians of Singaporean descent. According to the 2006 Australian census, 39,969 Australians were born in Singapore while 4,626 claimed Singaporean ancestry, either alone or with another ancestry. In 2019, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs statistics showed the Singaporean community in Australia had a population of 64,739, with the number including both Australians of Singapore origin and Singaporeans residing in Australia. It is the 2nd largest community of overseas Singaporeans, behind the community in Malaysia.

Lawrence Wong Singaporean politician

Lawrence Wong Shyun Tsai is a Singaporean politician who has been serving as Minister for Finance since 2021. A member of the governing People's Action Party (PAP), he is the Member of Parliament (MP) representing the Limbang ward of Marsiling–Yew Tee Group GRC since 2015.

2015 Southeast Asian Games 28th Southeast Asian Games

The 2015 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 28th Southeast Asian Games, was a Southeast Asian multi-sport event hosted by the city-state of Singapore. It was the fourth time the country hosted the games. Singapore previously also hosted the games in 1973, 1983 and 1993 edition.

Tay Kewei Singaporean singer-songwriter (born 1983)

Tay Kewei is a Singaporean singer-songwriter. She has released songs in English, Chinese, and Japanese.

Singaporeans Nation and citizenship category

Singaporeans or the Singaporean people, refers to citizens or people who identify with the sovereign island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-lingual country. Singaporeans of Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian descent have made up the vast majority of the population since the 19th century. The Singaporean diaspora is also far-reaching worldwide.

Hoo Ah Kay

Hoo Ah Kay, better known as Whampoa, was a Singaporean businessman and community leader. An immigrant from China to Singapore, he held many high-ranking posts in Singapore, including honourable consul to China, Japan and Russia.

Overseas Singaporean

Overseas Singaporeans refers to citizens or people who identify with the sovereign island city-state of Singapore, but living outside of Singapore. Most of the Overseas Singaporeans are expatriates accompanied by their families or students studying abroad. According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in 2019, the population of the Singaporean diaspora stands at 340,751 and according to official statistics from the Government of Singapore, 217,200 of Singaporeans overseas retained their citizenship. Majority of the Singaporean diaspora are located in Malaysia, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Japan–Singapore relations Relations between Japan and Singapore

Japan–Singapore relations or Singapore–Japan relations refers to the bilateral relations between Japan and Singapore, two highly developed Asian countries which share historical, economic, and political ties. While the two countries first established bilateral relations in 1966, some of the earliest relations date back from before the 15th century during the Muromachi period as well as the Ryukyu Kingdom. This continued for centuries until the most notable interaction with Japan's invasion of Singapore during World War II. The invasion led to a takeover of the country, after which Japan occupied Singapore for approximately four years before withdrawing following their loss in the war.

Chinese nationals in Singapore refers to Chinese people who are of Chinese nationality residing in Singapore. According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the community had a population of 451,481 in 2019, with 52,516 originating from Hong Kong and 18,820 from Macau, the 2 special administrative regions of China. The community of Chinese nationals are the 2nd largest foreign community in Singapore, constituting 18% of the country's foreign-born population.

References

  1. "PM Lee mobbed as S'poreans converge in London's Victoria Park for Singapore Day". 29 March 2014.
  2. 1 2 "$4.4 million budgeted for Singapore Day 2014 in London". 15 April 2014.
  3. May Wong (2007-04-12). "Overwhelming response for Singapore Day in New York". Channel NewsAsia.
  4. "12,000 turn up to celebrate Singapore Day in London". Channel NewsAsia. 2009-04-26.
  5. "Overseas S'poreans celebrate Singapore Day in Shanghai". Channel NewsAsia. 2011-04-17.
  6. "Singapore Day". 2GB. Archived from the original on 2013-10-17. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  7. 1 2 "Man complains about being barred from Singapore Day in Sydney for being Caucasian". Yahoo.
  8. "Singapore party ban on whites at Botanic Gardens event attacked as racist". Daily Telegraph.
  9. "Singapore Day event accused of racism". Nine News. 2013-10-15. Archived from the original on 2013-10-16.