C14 | THE STRAITS TIMES | FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2017 |

Wang Meng Meng

On Wednesday, Formula One chair-man and CEO Chase Carey ex-pressed a wish to see Singapore con-tinue hosting a Grand Prix beyond this year.

And talk is gathering pace that race organisers are trying to seal the deal before the race is over on Sunday.

It is not hard to see why. James Walton, the sports busi-

ness group leader of Deloitte Singa-pore and South-east Asia, is in no doubt that Singapore has gained much from hosting what former F1 ringmaster Bernie Ecclestone called the sport’s “crown jewel”.

“From a sporting point, it showed that Singapore is an economically strong city that can host sports and cultural events well. Teams and tourists have enjoyed the smooth and seamless trips to Singapore. And those tourist receipts will trickle down into retail,” he ex-plained.

Associate Professor Sharon Ng, who teaches marketing at Nanyang Technological University’s Nanyang Business School, added: “Hosting the F1 race gives Singa-pore greater visibility globally, given that it is a popular sport around the world.

“It allows us to showcase the city

and the beautiful skyline. As a brand, Singapore is associated with efficiency but we are also generally seen as a less exciting city than other places. F1 helps to increase the fun and excitement quotient for the country. So I think Singa-pore should continue to host it.”

Statistics provided by the Singa-pore Tourism Board (STB) indicate F1’s strong contribution to the tourism sector.

From 2008 to 2015, the night race attracted a total of 350,000 interna-tional visitors, generating an aver-age of $150 million incremental tourism receipts annually.

However, Walton feels the con-tract should be extended only “if the deal is right for both parties”.

He said: “We are not privy to the intimate details and terms but the balance of time, money and effort spent must be right. At the decision point, it has to be a win-win for all.”

That appears to be the case in the years since the F1 mechanical beasts roared down the Marina Bay Street Circuit in the inaugural race in 2008.

A major reason for the night race’s success has been its unique blend of combining gripping track action, entertainment from head-line acts and business networking opportunities in the financial hub.

This formula has worked so well that Carey now wants similar

week-long extravaganzas across hosting cities, having held a car pa-rade in London before Silverstone and a post-race party in Milan after the Monza race.

But the local economy also gets a turbo boost, too, when the F1 show rolls into town every September.

Jean Ng, the director for sports in the STB’s experience development group, said: “Local businesses such as our small and medium-sized en-terprises (SMEs) have also been ac-tively involved in race prepara-tions, such as circuit set-up, ticket-ing and security services, with about 90 per cent of Singapore Grand Prix’s race organisation be-ing sub-contracted annually to these SMEs.

“Over the years, these companies have reaped economic benefits and also built capabilities, gained expo-sure and established new business opportunities as a result of being in-volved in race-related work, and some have expanded their business overseas.”

She cited local audio-visual light-ing company Hexogon Solution as an example. The night race has given it opportunities to expand to Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and Thai-land.

Similarly, catering firm Steward’s Solution has also used the Singa-pore Grand Prix as a springboard to create a presence at events in China, San Francisco and Manila.

Walton added: “This is not com-monly known but F1 is a big boost to the local people. The money spent on organising the race goes back

into the Singapore economy and not out of the country; there is a re-cycling effect.”

But not all are thrilled by the an-nual F1 circus and the road closures that result. Businesses around the track have complained that the race has driven away shoppers dur-ing Grand Prix weekend.

One shop is cobbler/locksmith Shukey at Suntec City. An em-ployee revealed that business falls by as much as half during the four days leading up to the race as the masses find it inconvenient to navi-gate past the road closures. An em-ployee at watchmaker Tissot re-ported the same, too.

Looking ahead, some feel more needs to be done to keep the event fresh.

Associate Professor Ang Swee Hoon from the National University of Singapore Business School feels that the Singapore Grand Prix has “lost some of its shine compared to the inaugural event” and believes the organisers should give the event a makeover.

She suggested: “We should opti-mise the skyline. Perhaps have a wall lighting of the skyscrapers of the different attractions in Singa-pore. Each skyscraper becomes an advertising medium with the image of each attraction lit against the building. That way, we are also pro-moting the rest of Singapore to the millions of F1 viewers.”

Walton also hopes that given the resources available to the megabucks teams and slick organis-ers, this most glamorous of sports

can reach out to more locals. Al-though road shows have visited the heartland, it is arguable that F1 has yet to truly resonate with most Sin-gaporeans.

He noted: “I hope to see teams and sponsors bring more to the ta-ble. There can be more community engagement to create more inter-est in F1.”

One important group of people who are keen to continue revving things up on arguably the toughest circuit on the calendar are the driv-ers.

Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas said: “I hope that the Singapore GP contin-ues for a long time; it has become part of Formula One. It’s a unique event, it’s a very nice city for fans to visit and I always enjoy coming here. It’s a beautiful-looking race with all the lights in the night, prob-ably the most stunning-looking Grand Prix.

“We like challenges. This track is physically the most demanding race but I wouldn’t change any-thing.”

Force India’s Sergio Perez added: “It’s a spectacular track, probably the overtaking side is not very inter-esting for the fans. There is not a lot of overtaking but generally there is always contact – there is always a crash here – so I think it’s a very challenging track, it’s good for For-mula One.”

meng@sph.com.sg

• Additional reporting by LesterWong and Ian Kiew

The Marina Bay Street Circuit, seen from Swissotel The Stamford last night, brightly lit up amid final preparations for today’s first two practice sessions as the 10th Singapore race weekend gets under way. ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR

Race a boon to economy and suppliers but observers say some activities need spicing up

NUR AINIS’PORE’S FIRST FEMALE

POWERLIFTER AT ASEAN PARA GAMES C10

FOOTBALL RONALDO MAKES COMEBACK WITH DISTINCTION C11ATHLETICS HERRMANN PROMISES TO CHANGE APPROACH C9

Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2017

ADDING FUN TO EFFICIENCY

F1 helps to increase the fun and excitement quotient for the country. So I think Singapore should continue to host it.

’’SHARON NG , who lectures in marketing at Nanyang Business School, on the need to showcase the city and skyline.

INVESTMENTS PAY OFF

This is not commonly known but F1 is a big boost to the local people. The money spent on organising the race goes back into the Singapore economy and not out of the country.

’’JAMES WALTON, sports business group leader of Deloitte Singapore and South-east Asia, on the benefits.

MAKING GOOD EVEN BETTER

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