Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2017 will span a larger celebration area from within Marina Bay to include the Civic District, promising an exciting night out in the heart of the city and enabling more to come together to usher in the New Year.
For the first time, the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown – jointly presented by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay – will extend into the adjacent Civic District, which will be transformed into a car-free activity space this coming New Year’s Eve.
The public can look forward to a myriad of activities in the Civic District that will appeal to the young and the young-at-heart such as movie screenings and a picnic. The National Arts Council and the Health Promotion Board will also be organising a musical concert and a fitness dance party in the area. Refer to Annex A [PDF, 387kb] for details of the activities taking place in the Civic District.
Roads around the Padang – St Andrew’s Road and Connaught Drive – will be closed to vehicles from 4pm on 31 December to 2am the next morning, providing a more conducive and people-friendly space for revellers to enjoy a night out in the city. National Gallery Singapore, Asian Civilisations Museum and Victoria Theatre & Victoria Concert Hall will remain open until midnight on 31 December.
Mr Ng Lang, Chief Executive Officer of URA, said, “With the extended celebration area, Singaporeans and visitors will have more options to go beyond the main celebration area at Marina Bay to the adjacent Civic District on New Year’s Eve, and even up along the banks of the Singapore River. We hope this will enhance the experience and add to the festive mood for the community to enjoy an exciting night out in our city centre.”
At Marina Bay, the public can look forward to a variety of ticketed and non-ticketed activities throughout December, leading up to New Year’s Eve when more exciting activities await revellers around the Bay and at the Civic District.
From now to 30 December, visitors to Marina Bay can pen their wishes on wishing charms at the Marina Bay waterfront promenade and attach their charms to wishing trees located along the promenade. The 60 wishing trees, which will be progressively dressed up with about 30,000 wishing charms over the month, will form an illuminated visual arts installation carrying the collective wishes of Singaporeans and visitors from all walks from life. Singaporeans overseas can also participate in this activity by penning virtual wishes at marinabaycountdown.sg.
Across the Bay, Celebrate December, Esplanade’s annual series of free programmes held at the Concourse and Outdoor Theatre, has also begun for families and friends to catch music performances, interactive storytelling sessions, puppetry programmes and craft activities for children.
Also, The Promontory, Bayfront Event Space, Event Square and the Marina Bay waterfront promenade will be hosting the BounceOFF! Fiesta 2016. From now right up to New Year’s Day, the public can bounce, slide, jump and feast through four play zones. The ticketed event will feature large inflatable obstacle courses and slides, as well as a selection of international food options at the Feast Zone.
The festivities are set to bring even more fun and excitement to the Bay on New Year’s Eve. From as early as 3pm, the public can shop at the Marina Bay Waterfront Bazaar, enjoy free roving performances along the Marina Bay waterfront promenade, or the BounceOFF! Fiesta 2016 inflatable playground at The Promontory where six large inflatables will be open to the public for free for the day. The Rock On! 2017 concert at The Float @ Marina Bay featuring various international artistes will come on at 5pm to fill the Bay with music right up to the New Year. Gardens by the Bay will also extend the lighting hours of its conservatories, Supertrees and the festive Luminarie light sculptures until 1am on New Year’s Day.
We are also welcoming 2017 in a refreshing way by featuring a brand new series of projections and a re-imagined fireworks display, centred on the artistic theme “A New Dawn”. At hourly intervals from 8pm until midnight, the public can catch 3D projection displays on the façade of The Fullerton Hotel Singapore designed to highlight the intricate architectural features of the National Monument with animations and colours. Each façade show will be followed immediately by a one-minute light, laser and fire show from the Bay, ending with a preview of one of four special fireworks that will be seen for the first time in a Marina Bay Singapore Countdown fireworks display.
A final show followed by a special countdown sequence on the façade of The Fullerton Hotel Singapore will bring the night to a climax as the crowd around the Bay counts down the final moments of 2016 into the New Year, culminating in an eight-minute fireworks display at the stroke of midnight. The iconic fireworks display will integrate light, laser and flames, bringing the Bay to life with a visual treat of colours and multimedia effects. This Midnight Display will be choreographed to a specially rearranged version of the song “Glaciers”, written by local instrumental rock band and Esplanade’s Mosaic Associate Artist, In Each Hand A Cutlass. Refer to Annex B [PDF, 318kb] for the list of activities around Marina Bay.
Mr Benson Puah, Chief Executive Officer, The Esplanade Co Ltd said, “The Marina Bay Singapore Countdown represents a gathering of different communities in Singapore. And when they come together to usher in the New Year with a spectacular display of fireworks, we hope everyone takes time to share these moments of celebration with friends, loved ones and all around them. With this in mind, we have choreographed more picturesque compositions for our fireworks display this year to ‘paint the sky’ with light and brilliance, signifying the promise of a new day.”
The enhancement works at the Civic District have transformed the area into a greener pedestrian-friendly area, and one that is ready to host large scale events, such as the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2017.
By New Year’s Eve, the arts and cultural precinct will boast newly added features to provide a better experience for the public. Families and children can enjoy the children’s playground with old-school swings, see-saw, merry-go-round, slide and musical bells set in a sandy pit at Esplanade Park, while pedestrians can look forward to a more people-friendly, walkable experience as the promenade and sidewalks along Fullerton Road, Connaught Drive and St Andrew’s Road have been redesigned and improved. Refer to Annex C [PDF, 81kb] for the Civic District enhancements.
Visit marinabaycountdown.sg to find out more about Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2017.