I am not going to have a formal speech. I will just say a few words because I don’t think you are here to listen to me; you are here to see the art works and light installations. I am sure there is a lot we can look forward to.

First of all, I am very glad to see all of you here in Marina Bay. All of you would be familiar with the story of how Marina Bay came about. More than 50 years ago, this whole area was just sea. It was through the vision of our pioneers and our founding prime minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who had the vision of creating something out of nothing. They had the vision of extending our city centre out into this area. So we started as early as the mid-70s, to reclaim land in this area. Now, we have Marina Bay Sands, Marina Barrage and Gardens by the Bay. Marina Bay is now a leading business & financial centre we are all very proud of.

Marina Bay is not just a place for businesses. We really want it to be a public space, a bay for every Singaporean. Over the years, we have been able to make that happen. It is a favourite destination for many Singaporeans and their families. Last year alone, nearly 700,000 visited the Bay. There were also many signature events here last year – the countdown into 2015, and the SG50 Jubilee Weekend. Other than these signature events, there were also many individual, ad-hoc events. There were about 150 events held last year – one event every other day. People could simply come here and enjoy the activities and programmes. This is what we want for Marina Bay, a Bay for the people.

This i Light festival is just one of the many events that we are doing, and we are always looking for ways to have better programmes and activities. This festival is into its fourth year and it distinguishes itself from previous editions in several ways.

First, this year’s edition is the biggest ever. It is the biggest in scale, the installations, the carnival and the activities.

Second, we have the highest participation by Singaporeans; more than half of the installations are by Singaporean artists and students from our tertiary institutions. We are very proud of them. They show that we have amazing talent in Singapore.

Third, it is also the most sustainable light festival that we have done so far. Some of you may think, how can this festival possibly be sustainable when you are consuming so much energy? Well, URA has been running a campaign in parallel, asking buildings and organisations around the Bay and beyond to start dimming non-essential lights and raising air-conditioning temperatures to conserve energy. This year, URA managed to get a record of more than 60 buildings and organisations participating in this energy saving campaign. Overall, the energy consumed by this art light show is more than offset by the energy savings because of the campaign, making it the most sustainable light show we’ve had so far.

These are the three distinguishing features this year, as we keep improving. None of this would have happened without our artists - both local and foreign, as well as the curators Randy and Khai. We should give them a round of applause to thank them for putting all these together.

I want to end by saying that this year’s festival, a vibrant showcase of light art installations, events and activities, set against our iconic city skyline, is extra meaningful. In a few weeks’ time, we mark the first anniversary of Mr Lee’s passing. I hope that this light-up, in the month of March, will be a tribute to Mr Lee because he was in many ways, the one with the vision who made Marina Bay possible. I hope the light-up will also inspire all of us to continue the spirit that he had – always striving to be better; looking for ways to make Singapore an even more beautiful home for all of us; and having the hope and faith that we can have a better and brighter future ahead of us.

On that note, I wish you all a pleasant weekend. Do enjoy the i Light festival and spread the word around. Bring your families and as many friends as possible. Thank you very much.