Singapore to host F1 race next year

Singapore on Friday announced that it will host a Formula One Grand Prix in 2008.

Minister of State for Trade and Industry S. Iswaran told a press briefing that Singapore GP Pte Ltd, of which Singapore's hotel giant Ong Beng Seng is the controlling shareholder, has secured the rights from the Formula One Group to host an F1 race in Singapore for 5 years from 2008, with the option for Formula One Administration (FOA) to extend for a further 5 years thereafter.

The first race will take place in September or early October 2008 in a street circuit, the minister said.

It will be the first-ever F1 night race, which will allow the Singapore event to reach out to television audiences in Asia, Europe and the United States.

But he said the organizers are still look at the safety problem, "Safety is of paramount concern to all of us. Therefore, we will proceed with a night race only if the safety and operational requirements of all parties...are fully met. If not, we will revert to a day race."

A world class event like the F1 race, with more than 500 million viewers worldwide, will bring huge economic benefits and positive spill-overs to the city-state, Iswaran said.

"It is expected to generate incremental tourism receipts of about 100 million Singapore dollars (about 66 million U.S. dollars) a year," said he.

He added that hotels, night spots, restaurants, retailers, airlines, taxi drivers, and many other groups will also benefit. There will be broader economic spin-offs as well. The growing private wealth management industry, diverse retail and entertainment establishments can all take advantage of the event to derive benefits for their clients and their business.

The Singapore government is keen to host the F1 race and it committed to co-fund the event.

The annual cost of staging an F1 race can be up to 150 million Singapore dollars (about 99 million U.S. dollars) and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will co-fund about 60 percent of the cost, Iswaran announced.

The announcement came after a few months negotiations between the hotel giant Ong Beng Seng and chief executive of the Formula One Group Bernie Ecclestone.

Source: Xinhua