SINGAPORE - Fireworks will span the entire Marina Bay during the countdown celebration to 2016, organisers of the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown said.
Matching 2015's display, the pyrotechnics to usher in 2016 will last eight minutes. The display will be set to an original score composed by 27-year-old music director Julian Wong.
Partygoers can view the fireworks from more locations around the bay, particularly with the opening of the Jubilee Bridge this year, said co-organisers Esplanade - Theatres by the Bay and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).
The festive lighting for buildings around Marina Bay will be sychronised, and the Fullerton Hotel will feature a special light projection show on its facade. The light show on the Fullerton will be on nightly from Dec 26 to New Year's Eve.
URA chief Ng Lang invited the public to welcome the new year together in Singapore's "first post-SG50 event". "Join us to make our collective best wishes for a brighter future for Singapore," he added.
As in other years, wishing spheres with hopes and wishes penned by members of the public will be installed in Marina Bay and lit from Dec 26 to 31.
Besides the fireworks and light displays, activities around the bay include Esplanade's Celebrate December music programmes, a bazaar at the Marina Bay waterfront and a Celebrate 2016 concert.
Singer Adam Lambert will perform at the concert, organisers said. An online petition last month attempted to stop the openly gay singer from performing at the event. An opposing petition, in support of him performing, appeared online shortly after.
In its 11th year, the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown is the largest countdown celebration in Singapore.
Esplanade chief executive officer Benson Puah said that after celebrating Singapore's achievements over the past 50 years this year, the countdown to 2016 looks ahead to the future. "With the Marina Bay Singapore Countdown 2016, we start a new chapter in the Singapore story by coming together as a nation and imagining the possibilities that the future holds," he said.
