Singapore Garden Festival 2016 celebrates 10 years as the largest edition ever
More than 260 people joined hands to set Guinness World Record for world’s Largest floral chandelier
Singapore, 1 April 2016 – The much-anticipated premier international garden and flower event, Singapore Garden Festival (SGF), will return for its sixth edition from 23 to 31 July 2016, marking 10 years since it started in 2006. Set to be the largest SGF ever, the return of SGF 2016 was today announced by Minister for National Development, Mr Lawrence Wong, who helped to complete the world’s Largest floral chandelier – put together by more than 260 students, community gardeners, corporate volunteers and NParks staff over five days.
The world’s Largest floral chandelier, hanging from a height of 13m, measures about 17m by 10m. It is made from over 60,000 flowers, and will be displayed at Marina Square Atrium until 3 April 2016.
Today, SGF also launched the ‘Adopt-A-Plant’ initiative to encourage a love for gardening amongst Singaporeans, and inspire the community to co-create our City in a Garden. Between 1 April to 28 May 2016, more than 8,000 plants will be put up for adoption at Marina Square (1 Apr), Raffles Place Park (4 Apr), Orchard Fountain Corner (6 Apr), Bishan- Ang Mo Kio Park (8 Apr) and Singapore Botanic Gardens (28 May). A variety of plant species will be distributed, including the Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii), Painted Net-leaf (Fittonia albivensis ‘Verschaffltii’) and Variegated Peperomia (Peperomia clusiifolia 'Jewelry'). Members of the public can enjoy a 20 per cent discount on tickets when they present the accompanying plant tags at ticket counters during show days at Gardens by the Bay.
SGF 2016 to be doubled in size, with more offerings for visitors
Over the nine days, visitors can look forward to taking in the best of tropical horticulture and floral artistry spread across 9.7 hectares at Gardens by the Bay – almost double the size of the 5-hectare showground in 2014. The Festival has expanded beyond The Meadow and onto Bayfront Plaza, in addition to the Orchid Extravaganza at the Flower Dome. There will also be nightly concerts and over 100 stalls offering food and beverages, plants, gardening and landscape products for sale outside the ticketed area – so that more visitors can experience SGF 2016.
Popular highlights from previous editions of the Festival will be returning this year, including the Landscape and Fantasy Gardens, Balcony Gardens, Floral Windows to the World and Gardeners’ Cup. Visitors can expect to see 72 masterpieces across competitive and non- competitive categories by international and local designers, community gardeners and floral enthusiasts. This is an increase from SGF 2014, where there were a total of 50 floral displays.
Page 1 of 4 For media enquiries, please contact: Charlene Ho, Ninemer PR, +65 6534 9909 / +65 9178 0194/ Email [email protected] Chrystal Chua, NParks, +65 471 7808 / +65 9010 1792 / Email [email protected] Jeanine Tan, Gardens by the Bay, +65 6636 2028/ +65 9625 0887 / Email [email protected]
Singapore Garden Festival 2016 celebrates international and local talent
Amongst the 33 international designers participating in the long-standing Landscape Garden, Fantasy Garden and Floral Windows to the World competitions, 24 will make their SGF debut this year. Internationally-acclaimed contestants returning to the biennial event include 2014 Gold and Best of Show winners Michael Petrie (Fantasy Garden), and Andrew Wilson and Gavin McWilliam (Landscape Garden).
Local participants include designers John Tan and Raymond Toh (Fantasy Garden), who clinched the Silver-Gilt award at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show 2015, and Ann Teo (Landscape Garden), recipient of the Outstanding Award of Excellence and two Gold Awards at the 2015 Singapore Landscape Architects Award.
For the first time in the event’s history, the Floral Windows to the World competition will identify its local participants via a public competition that will take place this weekend from 2 to 3 April. The top three displays will be invited to compete in SGF 2016 alongside international designers. Also taking place on 2 April, 16 public participants – comprising a mix of professionals and amateurs – will showcase their prowess in qualifying rounds for the Table-top Floral Display competition, themed “Wonderland”. The top six participants will go on to the finals at the Festival. The weekend competitions will take place at the Marina Square Atrium.
To further raise the profile of Singapore-based horticulture talents, this year’s Festival will also feature the Balcony Garden competition helmed by locals, Gardeners’ Cup by community gardeners, a Terrarium Exhibition, and a new Landscape Design Challenge – where teams of students will be tasked to transform an empty space into a garden within five hours.
Ticketing Details
From 15 April 2016, tickets for the floral and garden extravaganza can be purchased from Visitor Service Counters at Singapore Botanic Gardens, Ticketing Counters at Gardens by the Bay, www.singaporegardenfestival.com and www.gardensbythebay.com. Selected credit and membership card holders (eg. PAssion Card, NTUC Plus!, SAFRA Card) will enjoy 10- 20% discount off local resident rates for SGF tickets. Tourists can also receive 10-20% discount off standard rates for Gardens by the Bay Conservatory tickets, in conjunction with selected boarding pass and travel promotions.
Page 2 of 4 For media enquiries, please contact: Charlene Ho, Ninemer PR, +65 6534 9909 / +65 9178 0194/ Email [email protected] Chrystal Chua, NParks, +65 471 7808 / +65 9010 1792 / Email [email protected] Jeanine Tan, Gardens by the Bay, +65 6636 2028/ +65 9625 0887 / Email [email protected]
Ticket Type SGF tickets Gardens by the Bay (SGF and entry to Flower Dome) Conservatory tickets (Flower Dome and Cloud Forest and entry to SGF)
Ticket LOCAL RESIDENT STANDARD LOCAL STANDARD Category RATE RATE (For non- RESIDENT RATE (For non- local residents) RATE local residents)
Weekday Weekend All Days All Days All Days Adult $12 $16 $23 $20 $33 Senior $6 $9 $15 $33 Citizen (> $23 60 years old) Child (3-12 $6 $9 $12 $20 $17 years old)
SGF is jointly organised by NParks and Gardens by the Bay. For more information, please visit www.singaporegardenfestival.com or Facebook page www.facebook.com/SGGardenFest
-End-
For media enquiries, please contact:
Charlene Ho, Ninemer PR +65 6534 9909 / +65 9178 0194/ Email [email protected]
Chrystal Chua, NParks +65 471 7808 / +65 9010 1792 / Email [email protected]
Jeanine Tan, Gardens by the Bay +65 6636 2028 / +65 9625 0887 / Email [email protected]
Notes to the Editor
About Singapore Garden Festival
Singapore Garden Festival (SGF) is a biennial event, positioned to be amongst the top flower and garden shows on the international calendar. SGF is the first show to bring together top international award-winning landscape and garden designers, florists and horticulturists from around the world who are invited to the Festival to work alongside Singapore's own talented horticulturists. Singapore's geographic location makes the Festival an ideal platform to showcase horticultural and gardening products and services from the northern and southern hemispheres, as well as from Asia and New World nations. In 2014, SGF became the first festival in Asia to clinch the prestigious International Garden Tourism – Achievement of The Year Award, awarded by the Canadian Garden Tourism Council as a part of the biennial Garden Tourism Conference. For more information on SGF 2016, log onto www.singaporegardenfestival.com and www.facebook.com/SGGardenFest Page 3 of 4 For media enquiries, please contact: Charlene Ho, Ninemer PR, +65 6534 9909 / +65 9178 0194/ Email [email protected] Chrystal Chua, NParks, +65 471 7808 / +65 9010 1792 / Email [email protected] Jeanine Tan, Gardens by the Bay, +65 6636 2028/ +65 9625 0887 / Email [email protected]
About National Parks Board
National Parks Board (NParks) is responsible for providing and enhancing the greenery of our City in a Garden. Beyond building green infrastructure, NParks is actively engaging the community to enhance the quality of our living environment.
NParks manages over 350 parks and 4 nature reserves. Adding to this is the extensive streetscape, or roadside greenery, that forms the backbone of our City in a Garden. An island-wide Park Connector Network is also being developed to link major parks, nature areas and residential estates. As the lead agency on biodiversity conservation, NParks has developed an urban biodiversity conservation model, which aims to conserve representative eco-systems in land- scarce Singapore. NParks also monitors and coordinates measures to enhance the presence of biodiversity in our urban landscape.
NParks is working closely with partners in the landscape and horticulture industry to increase productivity, and provide training for all levels of the workforce. Enhancing competencies of the industry will support Singapore’s vision of being a City in a Garden. For more information, visit www.nparks.gov.sg and www.facebook.com/nparksbuzz
About Gardens by the Bay
An integral part of Singapore’s “City in a Garden” vision, Gardens by the Bay spans a total of 101 hectares of prime land at the heart of Singapore’s new downtown – Marina Bay. Comprising three waterfront gardens – Bay South, Bay East and Bay Central – Gardens by the Bay will be a showcase of horticulture and garden artistry that will bring the world of plants to Singapore and present Singapore to the World. Bay South, the largest at 54 hectares, officially opened on 29 June 2012.
Gardens by the Bay was started as a project by the National Parks Board. It has since grown to become an independent organisation responsible for developing and managing what will be Asia’s foremost garden destination.
The Gardens has garnered numerous awards and accolades, including the 2015 Guinness World Record for “Largest Glass Greenhouse”, "Best Theme Attraction" at the TTG Travel Awards 2015, and "Best Attraction (Asia Pacific)" at the Travel Weekly Asia Reader’s Choice Awards 2015. It also received the prestigious "Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement" in 2014 from the Themed Entertainment Association, and special recognition from the Singapore Tourism Board for “Breakthrough Contribution to Tourism” in 2013. For its sustainable design and practices, it was conferred the “President’s Design Award 2013” in Singapore, the Royal Institute of British Architects’ “Lubetkin Prize” for best new international building of 2013, and “World Building of the Year” at the World Architecture Festival 2012.
For more information on Gardens by the Bay, visit www.gardensbythebay.com.sg .
Page 4 of 4 For media enquiries, please contact: Charlene Ho, Ninemer PR, +65 6534 9909 / +65 9178 0194/ Email [email protected] Chrystal Chua, NParks, +65 471 7808 / +65 9010 1792 / Email [email protected] Jeanine Tan, Gardens by the Bay, +65 6636 2028/ +65 9625 0887 / Email [email protected]