Singapore stages biggest ever Lunar New Year light-up

Singapore kicks off the Lunar New Year with its grandest and longest Lunar New Year light-up from 11 January to 15 February 2003. Stretching over two kilometres from South Bridge Road to Eu Tong Sen Street and New Bridge Road, this year's light up spans an area five times larger than last year's event and will see some 600 lanterns and colourful goat motifs adorn the streets of Chinatown.

The light-up will be launched on 11 January by Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong, at a switch-on ceremony to be held at Garden Bridge, Pagoda Street in Chinatown. Supported by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) since 1985, the annual Lunar New Year Light-Up is a much anticipated and popular event among local residents and tourists.

For the first time, Singaporeans and visitors can take part in the Lunar New Year Mega Sale. The sale, organised by the Kreta Ayer-Kim Seng Citizens' Consultative Committee and the Chinatown Lunar New Year Festival 2003 Organising Committee, will see more than 1,000 retailers across Chinatown offer discounts of up to 80 per cent to shoppers for goods ranging from apparel, jewellery and traditional handicrafts to foodstuff.

Apart from the sale, there are other events such as the "Lunar New Year Carnival" and "Kreta Ayer Lunar New Year Countdown" and activities such as street stalls and stage performances and entertainment to bring the festive mood alive. Other highlights this year include the "Oriental Revolution" - a fashion event showcasing traditional Oriental garments with a modern twist - and the "Lunar New Year Photography Competition".

Mr Lim Chwee Seng, STB's Director of Events Marketing, said: "The Lunar New Year Light-up has always had a strong appeal to both the local residents and visitors from overseas. With the range of events and activities that has been put together, this year's light-up promises to be even more exciting and colourful. The STB is also heartened to see the collective involvement and effort of the stakeholders in Chinatown to make this event possible and bring the crowd once again to Chinatown."

The STB will continue to market this event to visitors in the region through its network of overseas offices, marketing brochures and collateral. Other marketing efforts include offering visitors discount coupons on the festive promotions and working with industry partners to package the light-up to their business clients.

Last year's statistics show that Chinatown was the second most popular attraction in Singapore, with more than 50% of all the tourists visiting the district last year. It is highly popular with visitors from South Korea, China, Japan and the Americas.

With other Lunar New Year events such as the "Singapore River Hong Bao", "Chingay Singapore" and "Huayi - The Chinese Festival of Arts" at Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay happening between January and February, Singapore will be the place to be during the Lunar New Year.