Occasionally, during major festive periods, the Istana would have an open house.
The last physical one was held earlier this year on 26 January 2020 to mark Chinese New Year.
Back in May 2020, there was another Open House as well, but it was a virtual one and it was only limited to invited guests. Back there, it was to celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
Now, to celebrate the country’s (saddest) birthday, a virtual Open House will be conducted and this time, everyone’s invited.
2020 Istana Open House to Be Held Online & People Can See the Rarely Seen “Bunker”
Lest you’re not aware, Istana is like the White House in the US: other than it housing the Prime Minister’s office, it is also the official residence and office of the President of Singapore.
However, while our President does work from the Istana, no President has lived in the premises after Devan Nair, the third President of Singapore. Our current President used to live in a Yishun HDB before moving to somewhere else—but still not in the Istana.
The building usually holds open houses on five big holidays: Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Hari Raya Puasa, Labour Day and National Day.
This time, the event would be hosted in President Halimah Yacob’s Facebook and Instagram accounts on 2 August 2020 from 10am, one week before National Day. That’s a Sunday by the way.
You might not be able to buy any souvenirs, but this time, (virtual) visitors would be able to get a tour of rarely seen features such as an air-raid shelter located in a cellar. That is also known as the “bunker” that was used as a refuge for the staff there during World War II.
The tour would also include segments hosted by the National Museum of Singapore and the Asian Civilisations Museum, and it’d be interactive, though we’d no idea how that works.
So mark the date down: 2 August 2020, 10am.
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