Star Wars Day 2017 : Be Transported To A Galaxy Far Far Away

As part of "May the 4th" celebrations and to mark the 40th anniversary since the release of Star Wars: A New Hope, a three-day extravaganza - STAR WARS DAY: MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU Festival will take place at Gardens by the Bay from 04-06 May 2017.

 

Twice nightly at 7.45pm and 8.45pm, catch the Garden Rhapsody: STAR WARS Edition featuring a dazzling 15-min music and light composition. This multi-sensory treat, set against the epic STAR WARS soundtrack will take place over these three nights only at the Supertree Grove. To round off the night, hit the dance floor for some STAR WARS themed Silent Disco on 05-06 May.

Joining us all the way from a galaxy far, far away, one of the heroes of the Rebellion, Chewbacca and Kylo Ren, the dark warrior from the First Order will both be in town for the festival. Decked out in their own personalized custom made movie accurate costumes, catch the costume Fan Clubs, the 501st legion, Rebel Legion and FightSaber as your favorite characters. The iconic All-Terrain Scout Transport (AT-ST) - first introduced in STAR WARS: The Empire Strikes Back – will be standing guard at the Supertree Grove.

This STAR WARS fandom festival will culminate with the inaugural STAR WARS RUN Singapore 2017 on the last evening. Participants can choose to experience the 4.5km route, joining the Rebellion on their plight for justice on the Light side, or walk in Darth Vader’s footsteps to uncover the great powers of the Dark side. For the test of ultimate endurance, the 10km competitive route which passes through a section of the 4.5km Dark side thematic route. 

This event is organised by local event organiser Esprimo with the support of Singapore Tourism Board and event partner Gardens by the Bay. For more details, visit the website here.
   

Be There is our coverage on the exciting launch!

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Messi, Agüero, Di María, Higuaín Coming To Singapore In June 2017!

The Singapore Lions will take on the world number two ranked team, Argentina, in a historic match at the National Stadium on Tuesday, 13th June 2017.

The fixture has been scheduled to mark the Football Association of Singapore’s (FAS) 125-year anniversary, and will see Argentina field a full strength team, set to include their talismanic forward Lionel Messi and star players such as Sergio Agüero, Gonzalo Higuaín and Ángel Di María, in what is being billed the ‘match of the year’.

Organised by FAS and international sport and entertainment promoter UNICESS, the match is part of four-nation tour that will see Argentina play Brazil in Melbourne, Australia on Friday 9th June 2017, with the Socceroos then taking on Brazil in Melbourne on 13 June 2017, the same night as the Singapore fixture.

Tickets to the Singapore-Argentina match will be available for purchase through www.sportshubtix.sg  on Thursday 20 April from 9am, and through all other channels from 10am. Tickets are priced from S$40 to S$188 each, with children’s and senior citizen’s tickets available at $25 each.

Lionel Messi's Inspirational Story

Lionel Messi was born Luis Lionel Andres Messi on June 24, 1987, in Rosario, Argentina. Recognizably smaller than most of the kids in his age group, Messi was eventually diagnosed by doctors as suffering from a hormone deficiency that restricted his growth. 

Messi's parents, Jorge and Ceclia, decided on a regimen of nightly growth-hormone injections for their son, though it soon proved impossible to pay several hundred dollars per month for the medication. Despite being immensely talented, he was not offered help by the local clubs, who were not willing to pay for his treatment. 

So, at the age of 13, when Messi was offered the chance to train at soccer powerhouse FC Barcelona's youth academy, La Masia, and have his medical bills covered by the team, Messi's family picked up and moved across the Atlantic to make a new home in Spain.

The rest, as they say, is history.

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Rugby 7s Singapore - Canada Makes History

140 appearances on the HSBC World Rugby 7s Series since 1999 and finally Canada can enjoy the sweet taste of a Cup final victory.

On a weekend of upsets and shock defeats, the Canadian 7s team beat the United States 26-19 to win the HSBC Singapore Rugby 7s 2017 after a fantastic run that saw them beating 12-time Series champion New Zealand 26-14 in the quarterfinals and Rio Olympics silver-medallist England 17-5 in the semi-finals.

"We showed up today, we showed the world we can beat anyone. We beat three of the best teams today. We are flying. An unbelievable feeling."

---  Canadian Captain John Moonlight ---

The Singapore 7s final at the National Stadium saw Canada racing to a 19-0 lead in the first half after tries from Matt Mullins, Harry Jones and Mike Fuailefau with HSBC Player of the Final Nathan Hirayama converting two of three attempts. Before halftime, the Americans burst into life through a try from Stephen Tomasin and a converted try by Perry Baker to close the gap to 12-19.

The second half began with American speedster Baker scoring his 41st try of the season as United States drew level with Canada 19-19. In the closing stages, Lucas Hammond cut through the American defence to clinch the winning try for Canada, which Hirayama converted.

"Feels good to put it all together. Fiji was a wake-up call, it wasn’t good enough,
but we just kept on rolling today."

--- Nathan Hirayama, HSBC Player of the Final ---

Canada began their Singapore campaign with easy wins over Russia (28-15) and Hong Kong (34-0) in Saturday’s pool matches, but was beaten also 7-35 by defending Series champion Fiji. The defeat to Fiji on Saturday evening sparked off an amazing run from the Canadians on Sunday. In the semi-final, Canada beat England 17-5.

Meantime, England claim the bronze with a 14-12 victory over Australia.

New Zealand took fifth spot with a hard-fought 17-12 win against South Africa who remained top of the HSBC World Rugby 7s Series standings.

 Exciting moments in the fast-paced match...

A brave Regan Ware walks out injured at the end of the match...

The first ever North American final capped off a day of upsets. The Americans overwhelmed Australia 40-7 in the semi-finals to qualify for their third ever Cup final.

 Perry Baker makes a dash for a try...

 Fun moments between the matches with "Hulk Hogan" and a remote-controlled DHL van...

The Singapore 7s has now produced a surprise first-time winner for the second year in a row after Kenya upset Fiji in last year’s final.

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Gardens By The Bay - Tulipmania With Vincent Van Gogh

See art blossom before your eyes as Gardens by the Bay takes inspiration from one of the Netherland's most celebrated artists, Vincent Van Gogh, in this year's Tulipmania.
    





Be enthralled as the Flower Dome transforms into a floral gallery where Van Gogh's self-portrait and famed art piece "The Starry Night" come to life with the vivid hues of tulips.
    



    

More than 100 varieties of tulips and hyacinths - including Darwin hybrid tulips often appreciated for their large blooms - are on display in a palette of colours.
   

Curious To Find Out More?

Pick up a Tulipmania Garden Trail map or join us for the daily "Ask Me" tours by our friendly Display Interpreters as they share fascinating botanical facts and anecdotes about the floral display.
 



Date:  01 April - 07 May 2017

Time:  Daily at 1100 & 1500 hours

Venue:  Flower Dome

     



Snap & Win Contest

Contest Period:  07 April - 07 May 2017

Instagram your photo with Van Gogh and stand to win a trip of a lifetime to Amsterdam and visit the Van Gogh Museum.
   



    

For more details of Tulipmania and the Flower Dome, visit the Gardens By The Bay website.

    



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Qantas Australian Rugby 7s Players Join SportCares Youths In A Cultural Sporting Exchange

Four members of the Qantas Australian Men’s Rugby Sevens team, who arrived yesterday for this weekend’s Singapore Sevens, took time out of their training schedule this afternoon to participate in a unique sporting cultural exchange with 13 local youth from the SportCares Foundation at The Float @ Marina Bay.

A warm welcome from the personable and friendly Simon Smith to all the SportCares youths...

Nick Malouf, James Stannard, Charlie Taylor and Henry Hutchison, four key members of the Australian national rugby seven’s team that is currently placed 6th in the HSBC Sevens World Series, introduced the basics of their sport to the group of 14 to 19 year-olds. The players shared ball passing technique, demonstrated how to form a scrum, and explained what a line-out was. 

In return, the teenagers taught the players the essence of the game of chapteh – a traditional game popular in Southeast Asia where one, or a team, tries to keep a weighted shuttlecock in the air for as long as possible.

"We are delighted to be working with SportCares today, which gave our Rugby Sevens players an opportunity to share their love and passion for the game and also learn about chapteh from such a motivated group  of young Singaporeans."

--- Benjamin Tan, Senior Vice President (Asia and Papua New Guinea) for Qantas ---

"The session today was an invaluable experience for our SportCares youth to learn not just about rugby from the very best professional athletes in the world, but life values such as teamwork and integrity that are largely associated with the sport."

--- Kerk Kim Por, Director, SportCares Foundation ---

"It was also great for the youth to take on the leadership role to teach these athletes a thing or two about our local culture through the sport of chapteh, which they can take back home to Australia."

--- Kerk Kim Por, Director, SportCares Foundation ---

"It was really enjoyable! The four of us came down here not knowing what to expect, and the kids really put on a show and taught us some tricks of their own local game. There’s also a few natural athletes out there – some pretty quick kids, some good hand-eye skills. With a little more training, they can definitely forces to be reckoned with."

--- Henry Hutchison, Australian Rugby 7s Team ---

Under the experienced guidance of ice-cream master, Uncle Chieng,
Nick tries his hand at making an ice cream wafer...


Nick deep in concentration...


Nothing beats a cold dessert in sunny Singapore...


"I had a wonderful time today, it was my first time trying rugby. I play a lot of football and so am used to running around a big pitch like this, but it is very different with rugby as you have to use your hands as well as your feet and there is restriction in terms of where you can pass the ball to. Thank you Qantas and SportCares for organising this, as for me, it is always great to learn something new, especially when it is to do with sport!"

--- Dinie Irfan, SportCares Xerox United Football Team ---

Distributing giftpacks to remember the encounter...

Qantas has been the Official Airline of the Australian Rugby Union for over 25 years and naming rights partner of the Australian Men’s and Women’s sevens teams since 2012 This weekend, Singapore will once again host the only stop of the HSBC Sevens World Series in South-East Asia at the Singapore Sports Hub. Refer to www.singapore7s.sg for details.

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