From the possible visit of the Material Girl to the launch of the Michelin Guide, the arts, entertainment as well as food and beverage scenes will see some significant developments in the new year.
Stay tuned for more thrills and spills
The Golden Jubilee and the big-bang arts and entertainment events it inspired may be over, but there is still much to look forward to this year, including possibly queen of pop Madonna's first concert in Singapore.
Equally, expect the recent debates over censorship and the politics of state funding of the arts to continue as conservative and liberal factions here make their voices heard. Amid the debate, the National Arts Council chairman has said that it has to balance diverse values when giving grants to artists.
The arts council is expected to release by April a list of grant recipients for the upcoming financial year. Arts groups and institutions are waiting to see if any one of their number has its funding cut for producing works that are counter-cultural or disparage the Government, as has happened in the past.
Michelin Guide set to raise temperature of dining scene
The ebb and flow of Singapore's restaurant industry seems never- changing.
A flood of new restaurants will open. A handful will be gems. Most will value style over substance. Others will simply be bad, and the brutal scene will chew them up and spit them out.
Foreign brand names and international celebrity chefs, wanting to cash in by opening in a land of rabid foodies, will set up shop here. Some will do well, others will exit the scene.
More Stories:
Looking forward: The political scene
Looking forward: Happenings at home
Looking forward: The world stage
Looking forward: The Singapore economy
