Photo: Carl Bingham/Motorsport Images
SINGAPORE: According to race organizers, who made the announcement on Sunday, this year’s Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix set a new record for the highest attendance in the race’s 13-year history.
About 302,000 spectators attended the three-day festival, and tickets for the event have already sold out. This is the event’s highest attendance since the first night race in 2008 where 300,000 people attended.
The most recent race, which took place in 2019, drew 268,000 spectators.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Singapore Grand Prix was postponed in 2020 and 2021.
The longest extension of the race’s history, a contract was inked in January committing Singapore to hosting the F1 Grand Prix for a further seven years.
Approximately half of the attendees are from outside the country and the other half are locals, according to Transport Minister S Iswaran, who was speaking to reporters outside the event.
“I think it reflects the intense curiosity people have about our race, as well as its distinctiveness and the many other things we associate with it. It certainly shows that Singapore’s economy is improving, in my opinion.”
Additionally, he mentioned how this had a “cascading effect” on Singapore’s overall economy.
According to a company that supplies hospitality data, Iswaran continued, “Hotel occupancy rates remain strong, with the average house rates topping a historical high of S$440 per night for past F1 seasons.”
A “substantial number” of meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) events have taken place around the race, he continued.
“This has always been how our Formula 1 has been run to ensure that it encompasses a wider commercial and lifestyle package in addition to the sport. Furthermore, this year has seen roughly 25 MICE events with about 90,000 delegates.
“And that again is a very strong signal of not just the interest in Formula 1, but also the economic activity resuming in Singapore, and in particular the MICE event activities resuming,” he continued.
“In conclusion, we had a very successful Formula 1 event this year, the response from the world has been extremely strong, and you might say Singapore is back on track,” said the statement.
Charles Leclerc of Ferrari will start the race in first place later on Sunday. Max Verstappen, who is currently leading the Formula 1 world championship, will start eighth.
