Singapore’s history as a port city and its continuing evolution as a home for people from different backgrounds will take centre stage at TEDxSingapore Main Stage 2026: Landing Points, on 24 October.
Taking place at Victoria Theatre from 2pm to 6.30pm, the event invites audiences to reflect on where people arrive, how they establish roots and what it means to belong to a place that is constantly changing.
Organised by TEDxSingapore, this year’s theme draws on the island’s maritime past, when reefs along its coastline served as markers for seafarers, as well as its transformation through land reclamation and urban development. It asks how Singapore’s relationship with land, identity and home has evolved, and what kind of home the city is still becoming.
The programme brings together 12 speakers from different fields, offering perspectives on Singapore’s culture, history, environment and everyday life.
Among them is Hafizah Jainal, an illustrator and visual artist whose work explores ancestral memories, identity and cultural narratives.
Heritage educator Ho Yong Min, founder of The Urbanist Singapore, examines the stories and histories hidden in familiar streets and overlooked corners of the city.
Associate Professor Tan Ying Ying, a linguist and Head of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies at Nanyang Technological University, will explore the relationship between language, identity and belonging in multilingual Singapore.
Other speakers include conservation photographer and videographer Brice Li, who has spent more than four decades documenting Singapore’s forests and wild places; marine ecologist Neo Mei Lin, whose work examines how marine life responds to environmental change; and cultural geographer Hamzah Muzaini, who documents the maritime histories of Singapore’s offshore islands, including those that no longer exist.
The line-up also features sommelier and beverage specialist Lim Yee Chuin, community gardener Ganesh Kumar, film director Ervin Han, conservationist Lester Tan, music therapist Zee Ang, and singer-songwriter and violinist Joy Yong.
Beyond the main stage talks, attendees can explore a series of experiences under the programme’s “Landing Logs” initiative. These include an Italian wine workshop and tasting by Italian Wine Club, coffee by Tad Coffee and OLLA, books from Chio Books, card games by Origame, and an art experience titled Where Ideas Land by artist Quek Jia Qi.
There will also be a scent experience by POSTCARD and fermentation and preservation tastings by Bricolage at The Arts House Annex Building. A guided walk through the Civic District with heritage educator Yong Min offers another way to explore the stories embedded in Singapore’s built environment.
The 2026 edition also introduces Circle and Red Circle membership tiers, which include benefits such as VIP tickets, priority access to future events and an invitation to a TEDx community mixer. Red Circle members receive additional access to a sound check and backstage tour, as well as onstage name recognition.
TEDxSingapore has been bringing ideas and speakers to local audiences since 2009 as part of the global TEDx community, which independently organises TED-style events under licence from TED.
For those interested in how Singapore’s past, present and future shape its sense of identity, Landing Points offers an opportunity to consider the city through perspectives spanning language, heritage, conservation, art and community.
TEDxSingapore Main Stage 2026: Landing Points takes place on Saturday, 24 October 2026, from 2pm to 6.30pm at Victoria Theatre, 9 Empress Place, Singapore 179556.
Tickets and event details are available here.
