River Hongbao draws 1.35 million visitors over eight days
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Spectators being thrilled by the fireworks display on the final night of this year's River Hongbao. The finale was themed Harmony Night.
ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
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Rahimah Rashith
The curtain has come down on the River Hongbao celebrations, which drew 1.35 million visitors over eight nights of festivities.
River Hongbao, which has been part of Singapore's Chinese New Year festivities since 1987, was held at The Float@Marina Bay.
Large crowds, which included Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, showed up at the finale last night, themed Harmony Night.
Various groups, including students from Hua Yi Secondary School, Singapore Polytechnic and Kebun Baru Community Club's dikir barat group, took to the stage to perform.
Visitors saw zodiac animal lanterns and a giant God of Fortune lantern as well as a wishing well in the shape of Suntec City's Fountain of Wealth.
The final flourish will not be easy to top - a 10-minute fireworks display by Chinese company Tang Hua Fireworks, which has 30 years of experience at major events, including the Beijing and London Olympic Games.
Award-winning artists from Australia, China, Italy and the United States lit up the Singapore skyline with fireworks over the previous nights.
This year's attendance was a whisker shy of recent years'. River Hongbao drew 1.45 million visitors last year and 1.4 million in 2017. But they were also longer, running over 11 and 10 nights respectively.
Mrs Joanne Choo, who visited the festival with her husband and two-month-old daughter last night, said the event is an opportunity to bond with her family.
Said the 26-year-old housewife, who visits the festival every year: "I enjoyed the performances. There were food stalls too, all kinds of aromas were wafting over to my nose. There were fun rides for children as well."
Engineer Clement Lee, 46, who was at the festival with his wife, said that the zodiac lanterns were a yearly highlight for him. "The festival is a chance for us to immerse (ourselves) in our heritage," he said.
Mr Ang Wei Neng, chairman of the River Hongbao organising committee, who is an MP for Jurong GRC, said that the hard work of organising the event has paid off.
"What is most satisfying is when I walk around and talk to people, to see many first-time visitors who say they want to return next year, and the happy faces of young children, teenagers, young adults, parents and grandparents as well as a diverse array of visitors from different countries - it makes it all worth it," he said.
