Organiser Singapore GP says Duran Duran, as well as OneRepublic, will also hold full-length concerts at this year’s event.
Ariana Grande (left) and The Chainsmokers (right) will be headlining this year’s F1 Singapore Grand Prix. (Photos: Facebook)
SINGAPORE: Pop darling Ariana Grande and electronic dance music (EDM) duo The Chainsmokers will be making their Singapore debut at the F1 Singapore GP, to be held from Sep 15 to 17 this year.
In a media release on Tuesday (Apr 25), organiser Singapore GP also revealed that Duran Duran, as well as OneRepublic, will hold full-length concerts at this year’s event.
US pop rock band OneRepublic, who last held a concert in Singapore in 2013.
Other artistes who will be performing at the event include singer-songwriter Seal and British spoken-word artiste George The Poet.
Singapore GP currently holds a contract to host the FIA Formula One World Championship until 2017. There had been speculation last year that the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix may not continue beyond 2017 after Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone claimed the city-state does not want to host the race any longer.
Further information about concert times and ticket prices are available on the F1 Singapore GP website.
SINGAPORE: The long-awaited redevelopment of Stamford Arts Centre (SAC) will begin next month, and by the middle of next year, it will reopen as an arts space fully dedicated to traditional arts, it was announced on Tuesday (Apr 25).
Located on Waterloo Street opposite the Sri Krishnan and Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho temples, the redeveloped arts centre will include a new multipurpose hall for performances and rehearsals, a shared studio, an artist-in-residency space, and new lifts and walkways connecting the three blocks within the compound.
There will also be some shops and F&B outlets on the ground floor.
The arts centre will be managed by Arts House Limited, which also manages other arts housing spaces such as Goodman Arts Centre and Aliwal Arts Centre.
The redevelopment project will cost S$7 million. This is on top of the S$25 million that is being pumped into the traditional arts scene over five years, as announced by the Government in 2015.
ENCOURAGING COLLABORATION AMONG ARTISTS
Apart from improvements to infrastructure, it’s hoped that the new spaces at SAC will encourage collaborations among artists, including those in the wider Waterloo area, said Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth Baey Yam Keng.
“Beyond providing the physical space, we now want to promote more interaction among the groups based there, but also the wider community,” he said, pointing out that Arts House Limited will be doing in-house programmes as well.
“In a way, it’s arts housing plus – moving beyond just a space to the softer aspect of groups and the wider community coming together,” he said.
Mr Baey Yam Keng, Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth (2nd from right), at the launch ceremony. (Photo: Mayo Martin)
The chief executive officer of Arts House Limited, Sarah Martin, added that SAC will have its own distinct identity: “The Arts House is a literary centre, Aliwal Arts Centre is focused on urban subcultures, while Goodman Arts Centre is family-oriented, which will also have a children’s centre. (For SAC), we hope to build an ecosystem with the 100 (traditional) groups we have in this country, which is pegged around this building.”
The redevelopment project is helmed by Multiply Architects, which will take into consideration SAC’ status as a conservation building.
Before it was transformed into SAC in 1988 as part of NAC’s Arts Housing Scheme, the compound previously served as various schools. First, as a Japanese school in the 1920s and later on, as Gan Eng Seng School, Stamford Girls’ School, and Stamford Primary School, which vacated the premises in 1986.
Artist impression of Stamford Arts Centre, facing Middle Road. (Image: Multiply Architects)
TRADITIONAL ARTS FOR THE FUTURE
Last year, redevelopment plans were temporarily delayed, partly due to requests for an extension by its previous tenants, the majority of which stayed on until the end of last year.
Before it was closed, eight performing arts groups had occupied the premises, including Singapore Lyric Opera, The Theatre Practice and Bhaskar’s Arts Academy which have since moved to other locations.
Mr Baey said that the arts centre is open to welcoming some of its former tenants back, as well having newer groups come in. Among those keen on applying for a space is Ding Yi Music Company, which is currently based at Goodman Arts Centre.
“Since it’s near NAFA and LASALLE, it’s a prime area where we can work with arts groups and students. Performing outdoors here can also attract audiences,” said Ding Yi general manager Dedric Wong, who added that they’re hoping to get a bigger space for the growing company that includes 20 musicians and five full-time staff.
But it’s not just practical reasons that make SAC an appealing place for him. “When I was in my secondary school years, I actually practiced for the Chinese orchestra here – but I always thought the space was very old,” he said, with a laugh. “But if Ding Yi is able to move here, it’ll be a new milestone for us, since we’re celebrating our 10th anniversary this year.”
While SAC will be dedicated to traditional arts, it is also looking at how to grow these forms of art for the future.
“We’re not looking purely at preservation per se,” said NAC’s director for sector development (traditional arts and dance) Elaine Ng. “Our vision is for traditional groups that also think about contemporisation – collaborations that may be interdisciplinary or looking at contemporary versus traditional forms.”
An open call for arts groups interested in becoming tenants will be announced later this year.
Authorities arrested 32 foreign nationals during a raid on an entertainment hub in Batam, Riau Islands, early on Sunday, as they had failed to show proper documents.
Among those who were detained during the raid on bars in Kampung Bule were six Singaporean military personnel who could not show their passports or any duty letters.
The raid was a surprise to the industrial island located near Singapore and known as a tourist destination.
Batam Immigration Office head Teguh Prayitno told the The Jakarta Post on Monday that the joint raid involving the Indonesian military and public order agency staff was part of an operation to control “social problems”
“We have deported those that were caught during the raid [including the Singaporean military personnel],” he said.
A total of 72 people, including 40 Indonesians, were detained for failing to show proper ID during the raid. Seven alleged Philippine sex workers were also detained at a bar.
Yudi Kurnain, a Batam Legislative Council member, condemned the raid, saying that it might discourage tourism in the island.
“They should conduct immigration checks in a humane way, not through such repressive actions,” he said.
A woman arranges fried snacks on her street food cart the Pratunam district of Bangkok on April 18, 2017.
Street food stalls will be banned from all of Bangkok's main roads under a clean-up crusade, a city hall official said, prompting outcry and anguish in a food-obsessed capital famed for its spicey roadside cuisine. / AFP PHOTO / LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA
Thailand will be the latest country to have a Michelin Guide, its state tourism agency said on Monday, taking its place on the culinary world map just days after authorities announced they would shut down Bangkok’s vibrant street food scene.
The dining publication was introduced by the French Michelin tire company in 1900 to encourage people to take road trips. Its star system began in the 1920s.
The guide to hotels and restaurants, which will be released in Thai and English, will be the company’s sixth in Asia. It has guides for China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore.
The news comes days after authorities in Bangkok said they would banish some of its world-famous street food vendors as part of a clean-up drive by the military government, outraging foodies and threatening the livelihoods of the city’s road-side cooks.
The guide could end up featuring some of Bangkok’s street food. In 2016, Singapore made history when two modest food stalls – one serving chicken rice and the other pork noodles – were among dining venues featured in the Singapore guide.
“Bangkok is one of the world’s culinary capitals,” Lionel Dantiacq, president and managing director of Michelin East-Asia Oceania at Michelin, said in a statement.
As well as its famous street food, the Thai capital is home to a burgeoning fine dining scene, attracting an increasing number of world-class chefs.
“The guide will also inspire local restaurants to improve their quality and raise the bar in terms of gastronomic excellence,” said Yuthasak Supasorn, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
This year Gaggan, an innovative Indian restaurant in Bangkok, nabbed the top spot for the third year running at the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants awards sponsored by S. Pellegrino and Acqua Panna.
“Wild Rice’s La Cage Aux Folles is a slick production with a heartwarming tale at its heart” – The Straits Times
This new production is directed by Glen Goei and features a star-studded company led by Ivan Heng. With a glorious score featuring songs like “I Am What I Am” and “The Best of Times”, La Cage Aux Folles is a funny and heartwarming musical about one family’s struggle to stay together, stay fabulous and, above all else, stay true to themselves!
W!LD RICE’s LA CAGE AUX FOLLES Book by HARVEY FIERSTEIN Music & Lyrics by JERRY HERMAN Directed by GLEN GOEI Musical Director ELAINE CHAN Choreographer LISA KEEGAN Starring IVAN HENG as ALBIN with SEAN GHAZI, HOSSAN LEONG, DARIUS TAN, JO TAN, FRANCES LEE, AARON KHALED, MAE ELLIESSA, ERWIN SHAH ISMAI…
Two prime condominium projects are slated to hit the market in the second half of the year amid a significant pick-up in new private homes sales.
Analysts say the projects – GuocoLand Group’s Martin Modern and New Futura by City Developments (CDL) – are likely to interest local and foreign buyers if developers can price the units “correctly”.
Cushman and Wakefield research director Christine Li believes Martin Modern will be well received, “as the high-end residential market seems to be bottoming”.
Non-landed private home prices in the core central region were down 10.3 per cent as at March 31 from a peak in the first quarter of 2013.
Mr Wong Xian Yang, head of research and consultancy at OrangeTee, said: “Non-Singaporean demand for Singapore properties is also slowly recovering, which bodes well for core central region properties.”
PropNex Realty said the indicative average price for units at Martin Modern is about $2,300 per sq ft. CDL said pricing for New Futura will be determined closer to the launch date.
wongsy@sph.com.sg
This article by The Straits Times was published in The New Paper, a free newspaper published by Singapore Press Holdings.
An accident involving a tipper truck and a private bus yesterday at about 9am at the junction of Jurong Island Highway and Seraya Avenue resulted in one dead and nine injured.
The New Paper understands the tipper truck had broken down and was stationary when the collision happened.
A police spokesman said the bus driver, a 58-year-old man, was arrested for causing death by rash act.
A spokesman for the Singapore Civil Defence Force said nine conscious people were sent to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.
The police spokesman said the injured were aged between 27 and 53.
The dead man was a 62-year-old passenger on the bus.
When TNP visited the hospital, some of the survivors said the dead man was an in-house contractor for Asahi Kasei Synthetic Rubber Singapore.
They said they worked for the same company and were being ferried back to the Jurong Island checkpoint after their night shift when the accident happened.
Bloodstains could be seen on some of their clothes, and one even had a noticeable limp.
Photo: Stomp
TNP also understands some of the affected passengers required stitches for their wounds.
Concerned friends and family members rushed down to see them.
The bus passengers told TNP the tipper truck driver was also injured and was taken to hospital.
A passenger said he was sleeping when he heard a scream.
When he woke up, he had landed on the floor of the bus.
Another passenger said the workers were sleeping as they had just finished work.
He said: “When the accident happened, I was thrown onto the floor and I heard screaming.
“I was in a state of shock but still managed to call for an ambulance.”
TNP contacted Asahi Kasei Synthetic Rubber Singapore but the company declined to comment.
Investigations are ongoing.
tnp@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on April 25, 2017. Get The New Paper for more stories.
An accident involving a tipper truck and a private bus yesterday at about 9am at the junction of Jurong Island Highway and Seraya Avenue resulted in one dead and nine injured.
The New Paper understands the tipper truck had broken down and was stationary when the collision happened.
A police spokesman said the bus driver, a 58-year-old man, was arrested for causing death by rash act.
A spokesman for the Singapore Civil Defence Force said nine conscious people were sent to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital.
The police spokesman said the injured were aged between 27 and 53.
The dead man was a 62-year-old passenger on the bus.
When TNP visited the hospital, some of the survivors said the dead man was an in-house contractor for Asahi Kasei Synthetic Rubber Singapore .
They said they worked for the same company and were being ferried back to the Jurong Island checkpoint after their night shift when the accident happened.
Bloodstains could be seen on some of their clothes, and one even had a noticeable limp.
TNP also understands some of the affected passengers required stitches for their wounds.
Concerned friends and family members rushed down to see them.
The bus passengers told TNP the tipper truck driver was also injured and was taken to hospital.
A passenger said he was sleeping when he heard a scream.
When he woke up, he had landed on the floor of the bus.
Another passenger said the workers were sleeping as they had just finished work.
He said: “When the accident happened, I was thrown onto the floor and I heard screaming.
“I was in a state of shock but still managed to call for an ambulance.”
TNP contacted Asahi Kasei Synthetic Rubber Singapore but the company declined to comment.
Investigations are ongoing.
tnp@sph.com.sg
This article was first published on April 25, 2017. Get The New Paper for more stories.
Ride-hailing app provider Grab’s offer to buy SMRT’s taxi business has sparked the interest of at least one other bidder which is looking to enlarge its presence in Singapore’s burgeoning cab industry.
Diversified motor group Prime, which has taxis as well as private-hire operations, is also keen to jostle for SMRT’s business.
Prime chairman Neo Nam Heng said: “We’re definitely interested, but the question is how much they are willing to sell at.
“When we bought their (SMRT’s) car rental business, it was making losses. By the second year, we made it profitable.”
He was referring to Prime’s $13.5 million purchase of Tibs Leasing from SMRT in 2003. Prime is Singapore’s smallest taxi operator, with a fleet of 704 as at end-February.
SMRT, the third-largest operator here, has about 3,400 cabs.
SMRT’s taxi business has largely been loss-incurring since it started in 1990 and began to turn around only in recent years.
Prime said Grab had made a similar offer to buy its taxi business some time last year, but “we did not want to sell”.
“We want to grow the business,” Mr Neo said.
GOOD PARTNERSHIP
Asked to comment on the sale, SMRT chief executive Desmond Kuek said: “We have a very good partnership with Grab, with Strides, our private-hire services, as well as our taxi business. And we continue to look for all kinds of ways to partner and co-operate with them.”
SMRT’s sale talks with Grab – which supposedly include its Strides private-hire and Bus Plus premium bus operations – hinge on the buyer agreeing to hire all affected employees.
Grab, however, is said to be uninterested in increasing its headcount.
It refused to comment.
The National Transport Workers’ Union was also unavailable for comment on the issue.
Commenting on Grab’s bid for SMRT’s taxi business, Trans Cab, the second-largest cab operator here, said the sale would be a positive development.
“Even though it is relatively new, Grab seems more familiar with the taxi industry and issues faced by cabbies,” Trans Cab managing director Teo Kiang Ang said.
Asked if he would make an offer for SMRT’s fleet, Mr Teo said: “It’s not a vehicle issue, but a driver issue.”
He was referring to the taxi industry being short of drivers as more migrate to driving private-hire cars.
Industry observers have ventured that consolidation would be inevitable in the cab trade.
Economist Walter Theseira from the Singapore University of Social Sciences said: “The market is naturally unstable with more than one major player.
“The price competition between Uber and Grab is great in the short run, but is likely to lead to longer term problems.”
And as the market evolves, Dr Theseira said, the regulators have to be even more watchful.
– Additional reporting by Adrian Lim
christan@sph.com.sg
This article by The Straits Times was published in The New Paper, a free newspaper published by Singapore Press Holdings.
Commercial vehicle prices are set to tumble due to a six-time increase in the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) supply for vans, trucks and buses.
To capitalise on that likelihood, motor dealers have cut prices.
Nissan agent Tan Chong Motor, the leading retailer of commercial vehicles here, started the ball rolling by slashing its prices by up to $20,000 soon after the new COE quota was announced on April 12.
According to the Land Transport Authority, the COE supply for commercial vehicles will rise from an average of 322 per month now to 2,168 per month for the May-July quota period – a rise of 573.3 per cent.
“With the big increase in COE supply, buyers are all holding back,” said Tan Chong general manager Ron Lim.
“To entice them to come in, we’re offering these non-guaranteed deals with a COE rebate of $23,000.”
This means that if the COE premium falls by $20,000 or so, the buyers will get their vehicles. And they will get a refund of any amount below the COE rebate level of $23,000.
Multi-franchise holder Cycle & Carriage responded with even sharper cuts, slashing prices of its Mitsubishi, Kia and Citroen commercial models by $30,000.
COE premiums for commercial vehicles in the last three tenders hovered between $46,000 and $49,000.
With the cuts, prices for a Nissan Cabstar 10-footer truck start from $69,900, down from $89,900; while an NV200 van starts from $63,900, down from $83,900.
At Cycle & Carriage, the price for a Kia K2500 is now $49,988, a Citroen Berlingo costs $51,988, and a Mitsubishi Maxus G10 starts from $48,988 – all $30,000 lower than before, and with the COE rebate pegged at $15,000.
Toyota agent Borneo Motors has also responded by cutting prices by $24,000. The price of its Toyota Dyna 150 is now $79,900, with a COE rebate of $18,000.
Tan Chong’s Mr Lim said it was necessary to cut prices, as buyers were waiting to see how far premiums would fall before deciding to buy. He said that if dealers did not slash prices, “the whole market will come to a standstill”.
But industry watchers said slashing prices would not work for dealerships which still have COEs from previous tenders.
One example is Volkswagen Singapore.
A senior executive said: “We will not take the risk of dumping now. Why should we cut by $20,000 when the most we lose is $10,000 (per COE) if premiums plunge?”
He was referring to the $10,000 deposit that the LTA requires for each COE bid. The deposit will be forfeited if the COE is unused.
Volkswagen is selling its vehicles without COEs.
The eventual price a buyer pays will depend on the COE premium.
Results of the next tender will be announced tomorrow.
Isuzu agent Triangle Auto has not adjusted prices.
General manager Michael Wong said: “It is very uncertain where prices will go.”
A senior industry source said premiums are likely to fall, but by how much “is anyone’s guess”.
But with the response whipped by the steep prices cuts – which Mr Lim described as “very strong” – COEs may not fall sharply.
As such, Borneo Motors is still selling its cars with guaranteed COEs.
This article by The Straits Times was published in The New Paper, a free newspaper published by Singapore Press Holdings.
