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Merlion Statue at the Merlion Park Will be Undergoing Maintenance Works for 3 Months

Rachel Goh

2023-09-22 , 7:24 pm

For those thinking of going to the Merlion Park for some Instagram-worthy shots, think again.

The main Merlion statue will be undergoing maintenance works from 25 September to 13 December 2023.

That amounts to a whopping three months.

You won’t be seeing pictures of people pretending to drink water from the statue’s water spout for awhile.

Merlion Statue to Undergo Maintenance Works

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) announced the news in a 22 September media advisory.

Notably, it did not specify the reason that necessitated the maintenance works.

While the works are in progress, the statue will be covered in scaffolding.

That means the iconic statue will not be available as a photo op.

STB said, “We seek the public’s understanding as the works and barricades may cause some inconvenience during this period.”

However, if you are desperate to snap a photo with a Merlion, the Merlion cub statue at the Merlion Park will still be available for photo-taking.

Not the First Time Undergoing Maintenance Works

It’s actually not the first time the main Merlion statue is undergoing maintenance works this year.

It underwent maintenance works from 27 to 28 July.

The works came after a few sharp-eyed visitors spotted a crack on the Merlion statue’s back.

The crack was probably a result of the statue carrying the weight of being so iconic.

However, STB did not specify the reason for the maintenance work.

Since then, the crack appears to have been fixed, according to some posts on Xiaohongshu.

Merlion Statues in Singapore

Even though the Merlion is Singapore’s brand, there are technically only five Merlion statues in Singapore.

The main Merlion statue at the Merlion Park is the first official Merlion statue ever built.

Standing at 8.6m, it was specially crafted by sculptor Lim Nang Seng.

He also made the Merlion cub statue, by the way.

Both statues were only moved to their current location in 2002.

Initially, they were situated at the mouth of the Singapore River.

There’s another Merlion statue located at Tourism Court.

It was made in the Philippines and is only 3m tall.

You can tell it has been working out as it is the slimmest Merlion statue.

Another Merlion statue is situated at Mount Faber.

It was built in 1998 and installed by the National Parks Board as part of Mount Faber’s redevelopment.

Weirdly enough, there is also a pair of Merlion statues located in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1.

It was built in 1998 by the Ang Mo Kio Residential Committee.

Allegedly, the statues were almost removed because the committee did not get prior approval from STB.

Remembering the Merlion statue in Sentosa

Remember when you would travel to Sentosa and see the grand Merlion statue towering over you?

Well, the iconic statue was demolished.

The 37m statue’s last day of glory was on 20 October 2019 before being closed to the public.

It was demolished to create space for a themed linkway between Sentosa’s north and south shores.

Nonetheless, the ex-tallest Merlion statue in Singapore is dearly missed.

History of the Merlion

In the 1960s, STB sought an icon to brand Singapore.

Thus, a designer named Fraser Brunner got to work in 1964.

He merged the tale of the lion with Singapore’s beginnings as a humble fishing village.

Since then, the Merlion has been an iconic figure.

There’s even a Merlion Statue in Hakodate City in Hokkaido, Japan.

Image: Hokkaido Government Representative Office

The statue was erected in 1989 to mark the city’s long-time friendship with Singapore.