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Marina Bay Sands has raised more than S$7 million through the 12th edition of its Sands for Singapore Charity Festival, bringing its total contributions to local charitable causes to more than S$52 million since the festival began in 2013.
The three-day Sands for Singapore Charity Festival 2026 concluded yesterday, with funds raised supporting local charities and programmes that empower persons with disabilities, uplift low-income families and assist vulnerable communities across Singapore, from youths to seniors.
This year’s festival expanded its fundraising efforts with new initiatives including Dine for Good, a month-long campaign involving 12 celebrity chef and signature restaurants, and Impact Match, an interactive digital game that supported students from NorthLight School.
These initiatives complemented returning festival highlights such as the Good Bites Market, which featured five gourmet pop ups from Marina Bay Sands, the Giving Marketplace, performances by local artistes, as well as the Community Chest Heartstrings Walk and Race to the Sky Vertical Marathon.
Beyond fundraising, Marina Bay Sands Team Members also contributed their time to various community causes throughout the festival season. Since the integrated resort opened in 2010, its Team Members have clocked close to 145,000 volunteer hours.
This year’s volunteering efforts included assembling 30,000 hygiene kits for vulnerable communities in Singapore and the Philippines through the Sands Cares Global Hygiene Kit Build. Team Members also worked with seniors from Care Corner Singapore’s Active Ageing Centre to create beaded wristlets and joined adults with intellectual disabilities from MINDS for an outing to ArtScience Museum’s teamLab Future World.
The festival opened on 28 August with an evening celebrating music, culture and community. Singaporean singer and multi hyphenate artist RRILEY, a founding member of local pop quartet The Sam Willows, headlined the opening night with a medley of her popular songs, encouraging festivalgoers to join in and creating a shared celebration of music and togetherness.
The opening ceremony also featured performances that highlighted inclusion and the abilities of persons with disabilities. These included the Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities Brave Hearts Ensemble, an inclusive performing arts group formed by residents of the THK Home for the Disabled at Eunos, and Wheelsmith, a Singaporean rapper with muscular dystrophy who uses hip hop and competitive sports to advocate for greater understanding of disability.
Local bands 53A, The Vibes and SuperSonic performed throughout the three-day festival, entertaining audiences with pop, rock and crowd favourites. The closing evening also showcased emerging local talent through dance performances by Distinct Creative Arts, ITE College West, LitefeetSG and NTU MJ.
Food was another major part of this year’s festival, with Dine for Good and the Good Bites Market turning dining into an opportunity to support charitable causes.
Returning participants at the Good Bites Market included Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer and Bread Street Kitchen by Gordon Ramsay. Black Tap served its signature burgers and classic milkshakes, while Bread Street Kitchen offered festival exclusives including Gordon’s Fried Chicken.
RISE, Marina Bay Sands’ signature buffet restaurant, brought local favourites to the Event Plaza, celebrating Singapore’s culinary heritage. New participants Café Nesuto and Roberta’s Pizza also joined the market, offering wood fired pizzas, pastas, pastries and other popular dishes.
Through Dine for Good, diners at 12 celebrity chef and signature restaurants could contribute to the fundraising effort simply by enjoying specially selected dishes throughout August. Participating dishes included Maison Boulud’s Coq Au Vin and Yardbird’s Chicken & Waffles.
Proceeds from Dine for Good will support AWWA’s Enabled Living @ Bedok programme, a community co living pilot launched in December 2025 to help persons with disabilities live more independently within public rental housing.
The programme is one of five pilot sites across Singapore and provides tailored support in areas including daily living skills, social participation and community engagement. It aims to help residents build confidence, independence and stronger connections with the wider community.
The initiative builds on Marina Bay Sands’ partnership with AWWA, which has also included support for its recently completed Transitional Shelter programme for displaced families. Marina Bay Sands Team Members contributed by assembling furniture, retrofitting and painting shelter units to create welcoming temporary homes for families rebuilding their lives.
Another new addition this year was Impact Match, which turned a digital game into tangible support for NorthLight School students.
Festivalgoers matched identical essential school supplies in rows or columns in a race against time. Over the three evenings at Event Plaza, participants assembled 1,088 digital school packs. Each completed pack contributed towards Marina Bay Sands’ support for NorthLight School students and financial assistance for those in need.
The initiative builds on the integrated resort’s ongoing partnership with NorthLight School, which includes learning journeys, workplace attachments and employment opportunities.
The Giving Marketplace also returned with a refreshed boutique inspired concept. Twelve local-non-profits, social enterprises and small businesses were given a curated space to showcase their products while sharing the stories behind their causes.
Among the participating organisations were APSN, which featured handcrafted cookies made by apprentices with disabilities, and ART:DIS, which showcased lifestyle products and corporate gifts created by artists with disabilities. The Shy Crafter also offered whimsical earrings and miniature dinosaur sculptures.
All proceeds from the Giving Marketplace were retained by the participating organisations to support initiatives focused on persons with disabilities, seniors, caregivers and disadvantaged individuals through skills development, employment and entrepreneurship.
The festival also continued its partnership with Community Chest through the Community Chest Heartstrings Walk and Race to the Sky Vertical Marathon.
Marina Bay Sands and Community Chest have co organised the fundraising events since 2011. This year’s edition brought together around 3,700 individuals, families, corporate partners and community members in support of communities in need.
The Race to the Sky Vertical Marathon saw 188 participants challenge themselves to climb 57 storeys to the Sands SkyPark in the fastest time possible. Later in the day, thousands of participants took part in the Community Chest Heartstrings Walk around Marina Bay.
Funds raised through the events will support more than 300 critical social service programmes and projects, benefiting more than 94,000 social service users across Singapore. These include persons with disabilities, youth at risk, families and seniors in need, and persons with mental health needs.
