Ellyne Phneah
Image credit: Singapore Grand Prix
Good news, fans of Formula 1 (F1)! Singapore Grand Prix and Singapore Tourism Board (STB) have renewed their contract for another four years from 2018 to 2021.
This was announced last Friday just before the final race weekend of its previous contract, also the 10th edition of the race. S Iswaran, Minister for Trade and Industry, said that the F1 Singapore Grand Prix has generated benefits for the Singapore economy, as well as the F1 franchise. With global viewership and media coverage, F1 has also reinforced Singapore’s image as a vibrant and innovative city to a wide audience.
Lionel Yeo, STB’s chief executive also added that the race has enabled businesses to test-bed new lifestyle initiative and products, creating an exciting atmosphere during the race season, as well as injected creative concepts and experiences to attract tourists all year round.
According to Meltwater, the majority of Singaporeans were happy about the Grand Prix renewal. This was based on the online reactions tracked in the lead-up to and during the F1 weekend between 13–18 September. It was found that 76% of reactions to the last-minute deal were positive, 22.5% remained neutral, and only 1% reacted negatively to the news.
“In general, the Singapore F1 Race generates a huge amount of interest across social media, but the renegotiated deal by organisers and the Singapore Government further bolstered buzz, reaching record levels this year,” said Neil Brennan, Area Director, Meltwater Japan and South East Asia.
