Government Expenditure on Singapore Bicentennial Activities and Outcomes Achieved

Assoc Prof Walter Theseira asked the Prime Minister (a) what is the total Government expenditure on the Singapore Bicentennial, broken down by major activities or heads of expenditure such as the Bicentennial Experience; (b) what are the estimates of attendance and participation for each major activity; and (c) what have been the social, cultural and economic outcomes.

The Singapore Bicentennial commemoration was a success. There were more than 250 events held in 2019, mostly organised by the community. The total visitorship was more than 9 million, with many attending more than one event. We also worked with 340 community partners and more than 3,500 volunteers, reflecting the broad support for the commemoration.

Expenditure on The Bicentennial Experience at Fort Canning was about $35.5 million, of which $23 million was for the original run, and $11 million for the three-month extension due to overwhelming public demand. Just under $1.5 million was for conferences and books that explored Singapore's longer history. The commemoration also leveraged several existing annual events (e.g. iLight Singapore Bicentennial Edition, Singapore Night Festival) which were enhanced to feature the bicentennial themes.

We received positive feedback from those who attended the various Singapore Bicentennial events. Many visitors appreciated the importance of reflecting on our past, in order to glean lessons for our future. Response to The Bicentennial Experience was particularly good. It was the first time that a large-scale exposition on Singapore's history had attracted such strong interest from over 760,000 visitors. In particular, younger Singaporeans including almost 20,000 NSFs and 105,000 students and pre-schoolers, came on learning journeys with their school teachers. More than 96% rated The Bicentennial Experience 'Good' and 'Very Good', reflecting the breakthrough in storytelling that benefits the visitors and offers lessons for other institutions to reference. About 93% said that it had increased their knowledge of Singapore’s history, and offered lessons for our future.

The positive outcomes from this, and other community events, cannot all be quantified. For example, our community partners also felt that the Singapore Bicentennial commemoration provided a meaningful platform to showcase their community's history and origins, as well as to examine different aspects of Singapore's past. Many of their events engaged new audiences. Much of the new content created has also made different aspects of our longer history more accessible to the public, and will enrich our archives for future generations of Singaporeans.

We would like to thank our community partners and volunteers for their support throughout the bicentennial year.