Celebration@Marina Bay – Concert Fail

Via Leonard Soosay’s Facebook album. This set of photos is really saddening. Lack of publicity? Lack of interest?

Via the official Singapore Youth Olympic Games website, here is what the Celebration@Marina Bay event is supposedly about:

Come join in the festivities at the Promontory@Marina Bay, Marina Boulevard set against the stunning backdrop of the new Singapore city skyline.

From 13 to 26 August 2010, an exciting line-up of activities awaits Singaporeans and visitors as the city celebrates the world’s first ever Youth Olympic Games – the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games.

Celebration@Marina Bay will feature over 60 concerts and performances with renowned international acts – BEAST, 4MINUTE, The Click Five, Alarice and Nicolas Zhang Dong Liang. Not forgetting popular home-grown Singapore talents – Sezairi Sezali, Electrico, Great Spy Experiment, Budak Pantai and many more!

For children and the young at heart, take part in the Kids Sports Challenge. Try out sports such as Taekwondo, Wrestling and 3-on-3 Basketball or get up close and personal with Olympians like pole vaulter Sergey Bubka, swimmer Alexander Popov, and sailor Barbara Kendall.

Enjoy the many street performances happening throughout the day – from stilt-walkers, balloon artists, contortionists to percussionists – transforming the area into a giant carnival.

No tickets to the Singapore 2010 Opening and Closing Ceremonies? Catch the show “live” on two big screens at the Promontory@Marina Boulevard, which will also show highlights from the sport competitions.

So don’t miss the action – see you at the Celebration@Marina Bay!

Date: 13 to 26 August 2010
Venue: Promontory@Marina Bay, Marina Boulevard
Time: 9 am till late

Organised by the YOG Committee and presented by Samsung, the event is coordinated by Momentum Events.

Don’t say I am not supportive of the YOG or local performers – the purpose of this blog post is also to help publicise this event and hopefully draw more people to support it before the event ends next Thurs (26 Aug).

It is now the Chinese Seventh Month (or Hungry Ghost Month), are the empty seats marked for VIPs and VVIPs referring to our “special friends”?

If I am the marketing person for Samsung, I will be upset that my sponsorship dollars have gone to waste like this.

Below is a news report about this event, via AsiaOne:

Small turnout for big party at Marina Bay
Tue, Aug 17, 2010
my paper

AMERICAN pop rockers The Click Five must have been taken aback.

On Sunday, they played a free concert meant for over 3,000 people. But only around 300 people showed up.

The Boston-based band performed as part of Celebration@ Marina Bay. The event, held at the Promontory@Marina Bay, began last Friday and ends next Thursday.

Organised by the Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee and presented by Samsung, the event is coordinated by Momentum Events and held in conjunction with the Youth Olympic Games.

The Click Five, who played to a crowd of 4,000 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in 2008, also played a show at *Scape last Saturday.

On Sunday, home-grown band The UnXpected opened the evening at 5.15pm to a small crowd of around 50.

Music producer Leonard Soosay, 44, said that a number of the attendees were volunteers manning booths in the area.

Soosay, who was doing a sound check for home-grown singer Inch Chua, who played at 6.15pm on Sunday, said: “It was very disheartening. Imagine having to play your heart and soul out for such a tiny turnout.”

Still, bands and concertgoers remained positive.

Shirlyn Tan, lead singer of The UnXpected, said: “It was a good crowd to play to. They were really responsive and we got them on their feet.”

By 8.15pm, roughly 300 fans had turned up for The Click Five, according to some concertgoers.

Those who were there did not mind the small crowd, as some of the audience had a chance to “upgrade” their seats.

Concertgoer Ivan Tan, 25, said: “Because there weren’t many people, I was moved from the VIP area to the VVIP area, where I was closer to the stage.”

Despite the size of the crowd, he said that there was a party atmosphere, especially when The Click Five urged everyone to throng the front of the stage and dance.

“Everyone still got very high towards the end. Nobody was really affected by the numbers,” said Mr Tan.

Celebration@Marina Bay will continue with home-grown act The Great Spy Experiment tomorrow and Taiwanese singer Nicholas Zhang Dong Liang on Friday. Concerts are free.

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