George Yang, Author at Goody Feed

Many things are cancelled due to COVID-19—your cousin’s wedding was postponed, your birthday party was cancelled and days of bubble tea are cancelled, too. But why is it that the cancellation of the Singapore F1, officially known was the 2020 Singapore Grand Prix, such a big deal? So much that it’s considered a “breaking” news, when what’s even more breaking is that there are 18 COVID-19 community cases today? Well, read on and you’d understand. But first… What is the Singapore Grand Prix? In one sentence, it’s basically just F1 racing in Singapore. But it’s more than that. It all started back in 2008, when a five-year deal was signed between Singapore GP Pte Ltd, the Singapore Tourism Board and Bernie Ecclestone. Now you know why it’s a big deal: STB is involved because it doesn’t just mean that car-siao-Ah-Bengs would be the target audience: it’ll also bring in lots of money for Singapore, given that even people like David Beckham and Tan Ah Hock has come to Singapore just to watch the race. Reader Bao: Who is Tan Ah Hock? In addition, it was then the first night race in F1 history. The Formula One World Championship is like the English Premier League: there’ll be a season of races a year. Unlike soccer leagues that take place in just one country, the race take places in many different countries, and Singapore is one of them, with our race scheduled in September every year. It’s a Cash Cow for Singapore Singapore doesn’t just earn cars-related revenue from ERP or COE. The Grand Prix is a cash cow, and it’s even better than ERPs or COEs since it’s money from overseas. There have been 11 races in Singapore, and it has brought in over $1.4 billion in tourism receipts. This means on average, each race brings in over $127 million into Singapore. These are cold, hard cash; we’ve not factored in earned media value, whereby we get free publicity throughout the world without having to sponsor a Crazy Rich Asians. From Singtel to SIA The first race was sponsored by Singtel, which led to the world knowing about the red telco from Singapore. However, since 2014, it’s been sponsored by Singapore Airlines. So, could it be that SIA has run of cash to sponsor the event, since their planes are now lazing around and doing nothing? No. Grand Prix Races Are Going Round and Round and Round… The first race, which was scheduled in Australia on 15 March 2020, was cancelled for obvious reasons back then. Soon, all other races were either postponed or cancelled. For example, the next race, scheduled in Bahrain, was postponed, and the new date of the race hasn’t been announced. Some races were cancelled altogether: like the first race and a race that was supposed to take place a week ago in Azerbaijan. In other words, those supercars have the same fate as our cars: since COVID-19 hit, they’ve been rotting on a parking lot. The only difference is that our cars continue to depreciate like nobody’s business due to COE while their cars’ value remains the same. I think so lah. Lots of Talks Before That Organising a race isn’t like a Tamiya race, whereby you just fix the track and put a race-car on it: Image: YouTube It takes lots of work, especially construction work, before that. The roads have to be built, seats have to be built and David Beckham has to take leave from his underwear business. That’s why the preparations for the race has actually started last month—even when no one knows if the race will go on. Follow us on Telegram for more informative & easy-to-read articles, or download the Goody Feed app for articles you can't find on Facebook! Other Races Might Restart from July On 5 July 2020, the “first” race will begin in Austria. Several other races have been planned and would most likely go on—six races in six different countries have been scheduled. And the “seventh” race is in Singapore…which is being cancelled. So, why cancel? Restrictions on Construction and Business Activities Well, the reason is obvious but let’s hear it from straight from the horse’s mouth. Singapore GP said, “While there are still more than three months to go before the scheduled race on Sep 20, we regret to announce that we will be unable to proceed with the race due to the prohibitions imposed on access and construction of the event venue required for a street race to be held in the city. “These and other measures were understandably put in place by the Singapore Government and the various authorities to prioritise safety and are targeted to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. "With these limitations, which continue to remain in place, building and construction work of the circuit, which normally commences in May, have not been able to commence. We are therefore unable to complete the race circuit infrastructure in time for the race to take place.” Yes, the reason could well be due to the lack of time for construction work. Give Some Answers to Others But there’s one more reason, too. They said, "Confirmation of the cancellation will also give certainty to our fans, ticket holders, and commercial partners." Yeah, it’s just so that David Beckham can go somewhere else instead of selfie-ing in MBS. But what if Victoria has secretly bought the tickets for David? What Happened to David Beckham Who Has a Ticket? Ticket holders will be provided with automatic refunds within 30 business days. They also have the option to roll over to next year’s event. Ticketholders who purchased via SGP’s Authorised Ticketing Partners should contact them for refunds Last year, the total attendance was 268,000. Returning Next Year Unlike some races overseas that are postponed, Singapore’s race is cancelled. In other words, if you want to hear some noise pollution, you’d have to head down to Yishun or wait until next year, which is more or less confirmed to happen. Because STB said, “We take pride in our track record of hosting the first and only F1 night street race for the past 12 years, and we look forward to its return next year.” Though you’ve got to wonder: would the name be Formula 1 Sheng Siong Singapore Grand Prix 2021 instead of Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2021? If so, I’d buy a ticket seh. To stay in the loop about news in Singapore, you might want to subscribe to our YouTube channel whereby we’d update you about what’s happening here daily: https://www.youtube.com/watch?vtMVVy67vMZ8&listPLoa9nNa48ZVUNs3-1q2x5WuKNr-eqNReG

George Yang

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