Singapore Expo turns 25 this year and is marking its milestone with a brand refresh that emphasises its versatility, as well as hardware transformation to support events of the future, shares Chua Wee Phong, group CEO of managing organisation, Constellar
You have been in events for almost two decades. What would you say were instrumental in shaping Singapore’s business events fortunes?
I think it has a lot to do with how the Singapore Tourism Board has been spearheading the industry’s entire movement. Secondly, Asia as a business hub also plays a part in attracting many event organisers to Singapore, which is seen as a good platform for them to launch into the rest of Asia.
What part does Constellar play in facilitating Singapore’s business events growth?
Well, Singapore Expo, which is managed by Constellar Venues, is the only MICE venue with 10 columnless halls across flat ground; access is easy, as halls are not across multi-tiers. It is also located close to the airport. Hence, Singapore Expo is seen as the right choice for international events, especially the big ones like FHA-Food & Beverage and Singapore FinTech Festival.
The 2024 edition of FHA-Food & Beverage stretched across Hall 2 to Hall 8. Singapore FinTech Festival last year took up Halls 1 to 6, while this year’s edition (in November) will be hosted across Halls 1 to 6 plus meeting rooms.
Our venues also attract a lot of large-scale incentive events, where 100 to 200 banquet tables are packed in and lots of entertainment is brought in for a big rah-rah.
Additionally, our large atrium space grants us the flexibility to support creative events, so much so Singapore Expo is a playground of possibilities for any event organiser.
Playground of Possibilities – I am hearing a lot of this tagline in your recent communications. Can you shed more light on what this means for your clients?
We celebrate Singapore Expo’s 25th anniversary this year, and recently hosted a great party in August to mark the occasion. Playground of Possibilities is our refreshed brand identity.
As a playground of possibilities, Singapore Expo can deliver on events both inside and outside. Event organisers are increasingly looking at festivalising their events, to combine business interactions with fun experiences. For this, they need large and flexible spaces, as well as a creative and resourceful venue partner – we are all of that.
Our event venues are transforming. They have to because people are now looking to attend tradeshows not only for business transactions and to build networks, but also to have a fruitful time on their own or with accompanying family.
Constellar has built badminton courts and a music lounge on the site of the Singapore Expo, and will continue to grow its lifestyle offerings in the area of Halls 7 to 10. There, we recently launched the plug-and-play Arena @ Expo concert hall which is designed for mid-sized concerts of 3,000 to 6,000 pax. Arena @ Expo can, in fact, hold up to 6,700 people, with expansion plans in the pipeline.
We have just announced family-friendly exhibitions, such as Bubble Planet and The Art of the Brick Singapore, which will be held in the refurbished Hall 8. This hall will continue to house rotating pop-up-themed experiences that aim to provide guests with interactive and immersive activities.
More plans for lifestyle attractions are in the works.
The other part of our 25th-anniversary transformation is intensified partnerships to improve the visitor experience. One example is our partnership with private car rental company, Lylo, to provide transport to attendees during major events.
The addition of lifestyle attractions to the Singapore Expo grounds is a great idea. I can see it adding entertainment dimensions to business events and bringing more life to this part of Singapore.
Yes, the transformation of Halls 7 to 10 into a lifestyle zone will create a lot more hype and bring tourists and local residents into our spaces.
Having such extensive lifestyle and entertainment options onsite also means we can keep event attendees here all day. They can meet and do business in the exhibition halls, move on to our badminton hall for a friendly tournament, and have a dinner party in our Marketplace @ Expo (a food court featuring cuisines from around the world with live music performances) or atrium.
Event organisers can even look at including concerts at Arena @ Expo in their social programme.
We must make full use of all our halls. So, even with their new lifestyle purposes, Halls 7 to 10 remain flexible and ready to be converted into exhibition halls when the need arises.
Your hardware transformation will certainly pique interest, but event organisers are also paying attention to sustainability aspects when selecting venues. What are Constellar’s sustainability achievements so far?
The Singapore government is very committed to sustainable transformation and is working towards net zero emissions by 2050. It is encouraging organisations and people to move in the same direction.
Singapore Expo is the first MICE venue in Asia to install solar panels. Set across the roof, these 16,508 panels, with a capacity of 9.7MWp, can generate 12GWh annually. This is enough to power 4,000 three-room apartments for a year, and allows the venue to effectively reduce carbon emissions equivalent to 500 round trips between Singapore and New York.
Constellar has also installed a food digester and built three on-site herb gardens that grow over 25 varieties of herbs and spices, including sweet basil, rosemary, Mexican mint, thyme, butterfly pea, sage and more. These herbs and spices are freshly plucked and used in the meals that our in-house culinary team prepares for events.
These are just some things we have done so far to ensure that we are aligned with the government’s green efforts. We are doing our part to ensure that our future generations have a good planet Earth to live on.
We will continue to test new innovative prototypes to achieve our sustainability goals.
UFI’s latest exhibitions barometer takes an optimistic view for 2024. What is your business outlook?
My outlook is optimistic because Singapore will continue to be regarded as a strong business hub for the Asia region. You can see this shared optimism in Singapore’s MICE industry through the way infrastructure is being expanded.
However, Singapore’s success in business events requires the combined efforts of every entity, from hotels and retailers to recreation and transportation operators. At the same time, the government has to facilitate connections and incentivise the securing of big or prominent events.
Talent development is always a hot topic in Singapore. What is Constellar’s contribution to people development?
To nurture and develop emerging capabilities in the business events industry, we recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NTUC LearningHub that will see us pilot implementation-led courses, programmes and workshops to expand and enhance the skills of industry professionals.
We will offer internship opportunities for individuals to acquire experience through the events we do and the venues we manage.
This partnership complements Constellar’s ongoing efforts to develop the next generation of industry talent, through its existing partnerships and internship programmes with various institutes of higher learning.
Will Constellar commit to hiring a percentage of the interns it takes on through this training partnership?
No, but in previous internship intakes, we have had a number of interns choosing to join the company. Many students and interns go on to join other organisations. Constellar does this for the greater good of the MICE industry, to help train the next pool of talent.
