Singapore Arts Festival

Festivals & Events Management - Singapore Arts Festival

a)
For the recent Festivals & Events Management field trip, I have selected the Singapore Arts Festival, which is held annually since 1977. It is organized by the National Arts Council (NAC) and features various acts from Singapore, Asian and International artists. The acts range from dance, music, theatre and visual arts. This year, the festival was held from 15 May 2009 to 14 June 2009. I attended the free, non-ticketed Festival Opening at Marina Barrage at 8pm on 16 May 2009, titled ‘Hélios II’ by French urban theatre La Compagnie Malabar. Singapore Arts Festival is also very fortunate to be staging the 45-minutes Asian Premiere of ‘Hélios II’ three times - one performace on each night during the period of 15 May to 17 May 2009! Quoted from the Singapore Arts Festival programme booklet, about ‘Hélios II’: “Out of chaos comes an inspired surrealist evocation of the mythological tale of the creation of the sun god, Hélios. Strange mythical insect, builders of light and worshippers of the sun emblazon the night in breathtaking symphony of lights and sounds, conjuring up a fantastic spectacle harking back to a time of myth. Witness as French urban theatre extraordinaires La Compagnie Malabar brings to life the construction of the sun god at its zenith, with a spectacular procession of circus artists, performances, music and dazzling pyrotechnics displays.”

b)
I will be comparing the Singapore Arts Festival to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe held in Edinburgh, Scotland. Just like the Singapore Arts Festival, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is also an arts festival held annually since 1947. Unlike the Singapore Arts Festival, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest arts festival in the world! This year, the Fringe would be held from 7 to 31 August 2009.


Below is an analysis of the similarities and/or differences between the Singapore Arts Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, in terms of their marketing strategies using the 8 P’s:
Marketing Strategies
Singapore Arts Festival VS. Edinburgh Festival Fringe

1. Product

Has quite limited forms of art as compared to Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
• Performances like dance, music, theatre and visual arts.
• Ticketed and non-ticketed performances.
• Outdoor and indoor performances.

VS.

Has extensive forms of art as compared to Singapore Arts Festival.
• All forms of arts performances like theatre, comedy, children's shows, dance, physical theatre, musicals, operas, all genres of music, exhibitions, and events.
• Ticketed and non-ticketed performances.
• Outdoor and indoor performances.

2. Place

Covers a wide range of areas in Singapore, thus, allowing audience to be open to Singapore’s surroundings and environment.
• All around Singapore, both in town and in the heartlands:
Drama Centre Theatre, Kreta Ayer Square, Merlion Park, Osage Singapore, Victoria Theatre, Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, National Museum of Singapore, Raffles City, The Substation, Yishun Open Field, Marina Barrage, Nanyang Polytechnic Auditorium, Singapore Art Museum and Tampines Open Field.

VS.

Venues not clearly stated on website
• High Street

3. Partnerships

Has many more sponsors to fund festival, as compared to Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
• Official Sponsors
Official TV Station: Mediacorp Channel 5
Supporting TV Station: Okto Channel
Official Sparkling Beverage: Coca- Cola Light
• Premier Partners
Singapore Tourism Board, Singapore Turf Club, Shaw Foundation, The University of Western Australia in partnership with PSB Academy.
• Major Sponsors
Lee Foundation, Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Hong Leong Foundation, Vivocity, WingTai Asia, Raffles City Shopping Centre, Public Utilities Board (PUB), Suntec Singapore, Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT).
• Sponsors
Marina Mandarin Singapore, Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Starhub Cable Vision, Yahoo!.
• Supporters
Australian High Commission, Business Traveller, Creative Eateries, Cultures France and the French Embassy, Embassy of Sweden, Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands, Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain, Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, EZ-Link, GameAxis, Goethe-Institut Singapore, Harry’s, Hasbro Singapore, The Heeren Shops, Italian Cultural Institute Singapore, JCDecaux Singapore, National Environmental Agency (NEA), Rendezvous Hotel Singapore, Tan Ean Kiam Foundation.
• Venue Partners
Dôme Marina Square, Housing & Development Board (HDB), LASALLE College of the Arts, National Parks Board (NParks), One Fullerton, Singapore Bus Services (SBS) Transit.
Has lesser sponsors as compared to Singapore Arts Festival.

VS.

• Sponsors
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Magners Irish Cider, TransPennine Express Trains, Edinburgh Napier University, St James Shopping Centre, PRS for Music, HMV, Fopp, The List - Glasgow & Edinburgh Events Guide, Metro.co.uk, The Scotsman - The Festival Newspaper, Edinburgh Evening News, Black Bottle.
• Supporters
The City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh Inspiring Capital, Scottish Arts Council, The Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise - Edinburgh & Lothian, Premier Property Group (PPG), Edinburgh Festivals.co.uk, The Mike Wescott Memorial Fund.

4. Promotion

Has numerous number of promotions, used to attract more Singapore Arts Festival attendees.
• One can present their ArtsFest Club Card or ArtsFest Ticket(s) to receive great offers and discounts from Singapore Arts Fest partners such as Marina Mandarin Singapore, Marrakesh - Moroccan Lounge & Bar, The Rupee Room, Mirchi - Taste of India, The Heeren Shops, Dôme, Rendezvous Hotel Singapore, Hot Stones Clarke Quay, Al Dente Trattoria Esplanade, Barossa Esplanade, Business Traveller Asia-Pacific (BTAP).
• Early bird discounts were available from 9 March 2009 to 12 April 2009:
Package Discount
25% discount - 4 or more shows
15% discount - 2 or 3 shows
10% discount - 1 show
• General Sales Discounts were available from 13 April 2009 to 14 June 2009:
Package Discount
15% discount - 4 or more shows
10% discount - 2 to 3 shows.
• Full-time students/Senior Citizens/National Service Full-time (NSFs) enjoy 20% discount on all shows, from 9 March 2009 onwards.
• Group bookings of 15 tickets or more get 15% discount, from 9 March 2009 onwards.
• ArtsFest Club Members enjoy 10% discount, from 13 April 2009 onwards.
• School Bookings - heavily discounted student tickets, arts appreciation workshops and talks catered specially to schools were available for booking. Limited availabitlity.
• Passion Card Members and SAFRA Card Members enjoy 10% discount on all shows.

VS.

Has very limited promotions.
• 2-for-1 ticket promotion for students and group bookings

5. Packaging & Distribution

Sales of tickets are done through booking systems via:
• Singapore Arts Festival website
• SISTIC Authorised Agents (Singapore)
• Overseas SISTIC Agents
VS.

Sales of tickets can be done throught booking systems via:
• Fringe Box Office counters
• Fringe Box Office phones booking line
• Edinburgh Festival Fringe website

6. Programming

• Most of the ticketed performances were scheduled at the second half of the 15 May to 14 June 2009 period, which is 26 May 2009 onwards. Timing for ticketed performances quite standard for most performances - mostly starts 8pm.
• Free performances are spread out well throughout Singapore Arts Festival period. Timing for free performances varies, thus, allowing a little flexibility.
• Most performances are confirmed by Singapore Arts Festival committee. However, there are performances based on voluntary performances (such as Open Mic)

VS.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe is an open arts festival, whereby anybody can perform. The Fringe Office does not produce any of the shows, does not run any venues, does not invite anybody to perform and does not pay performers.
However, they will help performers every step of the way.

7. People

• Staff - some on Voluntary basis.
• Performers - some on Voluntary basis.
• Attendees

VS.

• Staff - full-time or part-time and voluntary basis.
• Performers - entirely on Voluntary basis (open arts festival)

8. Price
• Prices to some performances are affordable and with the discounts available, everyone is able to enjoy the performances staged. Some shows were even free, thus, allowing as many people to be involved as possible.

VS.

• Prices not shown on website, thus, not comparable

Eventhough the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest arts festival in Singapore, I feel that Singapore Arts Festival has fared better in terms of marketing strategies as compared to Edinburghe Festival Fringe. Singapore’s marketing strategies are more ‘straight-forward’ and effective and able to attract all the right amount of sponsors, audience and media, thus, making it successful in it way.

c)
Due to the fact that I am always stuck in Singapore during the holiday breaks just like many busy Singaporeans, I did not get the opportunity to attend the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to be able to judge for myself which festival - as compared to Singapore Arts Festival, has done better. In terms of best practices however, it is generally easier to give Singapore Arts Festival the upper-hand. Why is this so? Well, naturally the Edinburgh Festival Fringe would beat Singapore hands-down since it is the largest arts festival in the world! It is large enough to be a successful open arts festival, enabling anyone to perform. But more appropriately, I would say that the Singapore Arts Festival is also successful in its own ways and has been able to come up with best practices that can be of reference to other countries as well.

Being a tiny country as compared to the famous city of Edinburgh, known for its festival and history, Singapore, armed with about three decades of experience in planning arts festivals, has done well enough for Singaporeans to stand proud and hold our heads up high. I believe that Singapore has been successful with this arts festival as we are able to rope in many international acts to perform with us, thus, giving us an instant boost in status and also garnering more respect from other countries. This is not an easy task, as many performing arts groups would not travel more than halfway around the world, to perform in an arts festival that is not able to let the group reach beyond its potential. They would want a festival that is able to allow them to create an unforgettable experience in every festival attendee’s minds.

One of the best practices carried out by Singapore Arts Festival would be its promotions. As seen in the table above, Singapore has many more partnerships as compared to Edinburgh Festival Fringe, it also has promotions that are able to attract a fairly large number of attendees. One can present their ArtsFest Club Card or ArtsFest Ticket(s) to receive great offers and discounts from Singapore Arts Fest partners such as Marina Mandarin Singapore, Marrakesh - Moroccan Lounge & Bar, The Rupee Room, Mirchi - Taste of India, The Heeren Shops, Dôme, Rendezvous Hotel Singapore, Hot Stones Clarke Quay, Al Dente Trattoria Esplanade, Barossa Esplanade, Business Traveller Asia-Pacific (BTAP). With better rates from two accommodations stated above, foreign Singapore Arts Festival attendees will be even more attracted to, at least, stay a few night in Singapore while enjoying both attending the arts festival and also the sights and sounds of Singapore.

Another Singapore Arts Festival practice worth learning, is coming up with an engaging aspect of the festival like Fest Connect. Its main purpose is to build stronger links with schools, arts communities and the public to improve their understanding of festivals. Fest Connect includes school programmes, festival chats, festival forums and festival workshops. Participants are also able to interact with some of the artists as well! This allows participants to be even more connected to the performance and help them understand it better through an entirely different and engaging platform.

d)
The stakeholders in events are Host Organisation, Host Community, Sponsor, Media, Co-Workers, Participants and Spectators.

The Stakeholders of Singapore Arts Festival are:

§ Host Organisation
National Arts Council (NAC)
§ Host Community
Singaporeans
§ Sponsor
Official Sponsors
Official TV Station: Mediacorp Channel 5
Supporting TV Station: Okto Channel
Official Sparkling Beverage: Coca-Cola Light
Premier Partners
Singapore Tourism Board, Singapore Turf Club, Shaw Foundation, The University of Western Australia in partnership with PSB Academy.
Major Sponsors
Lee Foundation, Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Hong Leong Foundation, Vivocity, WingTai Asia, Raffles City Shopping Centre, Public Utilities Board (PUB), Suntec Singapore, Singapore Mass Rapid Transit (SMRT).
Sponsors
Marina Mandarin Singapore, Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Starhub Cable Vision, Yahoo!.
Supporters
Australian High Commission, Business Traveller, Creative Eateries, Cultures France and the French Embassy, Embassy of Sweden, Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands, Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain, Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, EZ-Link, GameAxis, Goethe-Institut Singapore, Harry’s, Hasbro Singapore, The Heeren Shops, Italian Cultural Institute Singapore, JCDecaux Singapore, National Environmental Agency (NEA), Rendezvous Hotel Singapore, Tan Ean Kiam Foundation.
Venue Partners
Dôme Marina Square, Housing & Development Board (HDB), LASALLE College of the Arts, National Parks Board (NParks), One Fullerton, Singapore Bus Services (SBS) Transit.
§ Media
Mediacorp Channel 5, Okto Channel, various radio stations, newspapers, magazines and internet advertisements.
§ Co-Workers
Staff of various organizations like NAC, Coca-Cola Light, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) etc., volunteer staff, volunteer performers, performers, technicians, contractors and cleaners.
§ Participants and Spectators
Singapore Arts Festival attendees (both foreign and local) and participants of Fest Connect programmes.

e)
Singapore has come a long way, developing its sense of understanding of the arts to what it is today. With this development of the arts and efforts to bring even more variety of them into Singapore, the huge buffet spread of art performances turn into a vast amount of exposure for Singaporeans. In 1977, Singapore Arts Festival first began with a rather simple purpose, which was to celebrate the local arts activities of the diverse communities of Singapore. Organised by the National Arts Council, this festival has managed to play a more than significant role to Singapore. It has managed to make Singapore able to withstand the pressures of a large-scale arts festival like what it is doing now. Staging a large-scale arts festival is no mean feat. Without proper and thorough planning, interesting programme line-ups and the lack there-of in the budget department, a festival can easily crumble and be the mockingbird of the media and other successful countries.

Being a fan of the Arts ― mainly in the Theatre and Music categories, attending the Singapore Arts Festival was a big opportunity for me to be even more open to other forms of the Arts. With many international and local performances, both ticketing and non-ticketed, all over Singapore, one will only be spoilt for choice! There are even performances staged in the heartlands like Toa Payoh HDB Hub, Tampines Open Field and Yishun Open Field. They will not only bring convenience to the Public but it will also open the eyes of those who are less aware of the Arts.

Singapore Arts Festival is divided into various categories ― Dance, Music, Theatre, Visual Arts, Outreach and Fest Connect. The Outreach programmes and Fest Connect is something very unique to Singapore Arts Festival. The Outreach programmes consisted of programmes specially designed to reach out to the Public and connect them with the Arts. For example, they have the Festival Opening, Closing Celebrations, Special Events, Family FunFest, Arts on the Move and Asian Showcase. The purpose of Fest Connect, as quoted from SIngapore Arts Festival’s website, is “building stronger links with schools, arts communities and the public to enhance greater understanding of festival programmes, festival artists and festival-makings.” With so many different workshops, from dance to theatre etc., I am sure everyone would be spoilt for choice!

‘Hélios II’, the Festival Opening is part of the Outreach programme that was non-ticketed and open to the Public. The performance by La Compagnie Malabar from France was from 15 May to 17 May 2009. With their energy and use of many different types of props, La Compagnie Malabar was, to me, the perfect choice made by the Singapore Arts Festival committee to kick-start and open 2009’s festival. It was exciting and breathtaking with the myriad of brights lights and colours welcoming you to the arts festival. With the short mini display of fireworks after ‘Hélios II’, I was left in awe, wanting for more since I did not manage to get a clear view of the performance since there we a lot of people who attended as well. I was proud of Singapore and her capabilities and potential of becoming a more successful country in all aspects possible.

f)
As the host city of Singapore Arts Festival, Singapore receives a great amount of tourism benefits. These tourism benefits will also come with economic benefits as well. Tourism benefits come in many forms, mainly, business opportunities, commercial activity, employment creation, tourism revenue and increase in tax revenue.

Events are able to create attention to the business involved or around the event venue itself. Once they get noticed, profits start getting generated and this also benefits the country. For example, newly opened shopping centres near performance areas will get attention, more people will visit it (both locals and foreigners), revenue for food & beverage and retail etc., will also be generated, thus, allowing businesses to thrive during period of events. Stimulating activity in the economy and spending during events can benefit everyone, in terms of employment. Jobs can be created due to the need and demand. Business opportunities also generate commercial activity. With more food & beverage outlets, ingredients are needed, thus, suppliers are sourced for these ingredients. This would mean that the suppliers also benefit from events as well.

Reference(s):
http://www.singaporeartsfest.com/
http://www.edfringe.com/