Country to host Asia\u2019s first motorsport race since Covid-19 pandemic
\nSINGAPORE
\nWith tickets selling fast and party suites costing up to $70,000 a night, Singapore is putting the pedal to the metal when it hosts Asia\u2019s first Formula One race this weekend since the pandemic.
\nTens of thousands of fans are expected to converge for the Singapore Grand Prix from Friday to Sunday as the night race roars back after a two-year absence because of Covid.
\nAdding to the party atmosphere, Red Bull\u2019s Max Verstappen could retain his world title on the floodlit street circuit around the Marina Bay district.
\nBut one of the most glamorous races on the F1 calendar has always been about more than just the racing.
\nAway from the track, the city-state will be letting its hair down with concerts by Westlife, Black Eyed Peas and Suede, plus American rapper Fatman Scoop and Dutch DJ Oliver Heldens.
\nMore upscale parties are boasting caviar and champagne on the menu, and diners can dig into an F1-themed \u201cRoaring Dinner Feast\u201d and \u201cFuel Up Brunch\u201d.
\nAbout 25 corporate meetings and events, including the Forbes Global CEO Conference, are also scheduled, allowing executives to mix work and play.
\n\u201cIt signals to the world that Singapore is back in business and that our ability to stage world-class, high-quality events remains undimmed,\u201d Ong Ling Lee, an executive director at Singapore Tourism Board (STB), told AFP.
\nAuthorities have not released numbers, but ticket sales for Singapore\u2019s biggest event since the pandemic have already exceeded 2019, when 268,000 spectators watched, said Ong. Race tickets cost from Sg$98 ($70) to nearly Sg$10,000.
\nSingapore has removed all Covid restrictions, except for mask-wearing inside buses and metro trains, after vaccinating most of its population of nearly six million and deciding to live with the virus.
\n\u201cFrom a global perspective, this is the brightest light to shine on Singapore since the pandemic,\u201d Song Seng Wun, an economist with CIMB Private Banking, told AFP.
\n\u201cThis is Singapore\u2019s grand coming-out-of-Covid party.\u201d
\nCovid wrecked Singapore\u2019s economy with its deepest-ever recession in 2020 and in 2021 visitor arrivals plunged to 330,000, from 19.12 million in 2019.
\nBut it shifted to endemicity earlier this year and last week overtook Hong Kong as Asia\u2019s premier finance centre in a global ranking list.
\nSeeing Singapore emphatically open up has \u201cput pressure\u201d on other Asian economies such as Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong to also relax travel curbs, said Song.
\n\u201cFormula One is also shining the spotlight on Asia in terms of who is seriously going back to business.\u201d
\nHotel bookings have been brisk, even with room rates estimated to be up to 50 percent higher than they were pre-Covid.
\nPrices have surged past Sg$2,000 a night, especially for those around the circuit.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of pent-up demand for those race enthusiasts looking forward to come back to Singapore,\u201d said Marcus Hanna, managing director of Fairmont Singapore and Swissotel The Stamford.
\nFor many, the socialising is as important as the racing.
\nF1 after-party specialist Amber Lounge has a \u201cNoir Suite\u201d for up to 25 people at the five-star Fullerton Bay Hotel costing Sg$100,000 a night. The hotel\u2019s F1-inspired dishes include a \u201cPit Stop Cake\u201d.
\nThe nearby Marina Bay Sands casino and hotel complex is offering a \u201cMandala Weekender\u201d, where guests can enjoy a variety of musical entertainment and parties.
\nUS hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd, Grammy-nominated artist Kelis and popular British drum and bass musicians Rudimental are among those featured.
\nThe tourism board said that the F1 has generated more than Sg$1.5 billion in tourism receipts since its Singapore debut in 2008.
\n\u201cFor me, it\u2019s not just about the race, I want to go around to see who is coming to the party, to see whether the buzz has come back,\u201d said Song, the economist.
\n\u201cI think it\u2019s back with a vengeance.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Country to host Asia\u2019s first motorsport race since Covid-19 pandemic SINGAPORE With tickets selling fast and party suites costing up to $70,000 a night, Singapore is putting the pedal to the metal when it hosts Asia\u2019s first Formula One race this weekend since the pandemic. Tens of thousands of fans are expected to converge for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":286144,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-286123","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n