SINGAPORE - Joseph Schooling is still en route to Singapore from Brazil, but Singapore companies are already gearing up to celebrate his Olympic triumph.
About 17,000 ComfortDelgro taxis are displaying 'Our Pride J Schooling' on the taxi rooftop sign for one week starting Sunday (Aug 14) afternoon.
The 21-year-old swimmer will be arriving at Belt 42, Terminal 3 of Changi Airport at 5.30am on Singapore Airlines flight SQ67.
He is expected to be welcomed by a contingent of fans, sports officials, and members and affiliates of the Singapore Swimming Association.
The transport company is also offering a $10 discount for the first 1,000 passengers who book trips to Changi Airport on Monday (Aug 15) morning to welcome Schooling home.
The promotion is available on the ComfortDelGro App and customers need to key in the code "5039".
The numbers represent the record time of 50.39sec Schooling clocked in the 100m butterfly final on Saturday morning.
He won gold in the event, beating swimming legend Michael Phelps and breaking the Olympic record.
Singapore Airlines also gave Schooling a champion's send off at the airport in Rio de Janeiro before he boarded the plane for Singapore.
There was a cake, champagne and he was awarded one million KrisFlyer miles by the airline.
The celebration continued at 30,000 feet in the air, said Editor-at-Large Han Fook Kwang.
Thirty minutes into the flight, the pilot announced Schooling's presence on board and that the champagne would be served for all to celebrate his historic win.
Back in Singapore, Canopy Garden Dining, a restaurant at Bishan Park offered a 50.39 per cent discount for brunch and dinner, it said on its Facebook page.
McDonald's fast food restaurants will be giving out free chicken McNuggets at nearly all its branches on Monday from 11am onwards to celebrate his win.
McDonald's was also one of the companies that took out full page advertisements in The Straits Times to congratulate Schooling, along with Singtel and Brand's essence of chicken.
Schooling and his family will also be attending Parliament on Monday. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called him to invite him to the session himself.
The House plans to move a motion to congratulate Schooling on his gold and express support for Team Singapore athletes.
There are also plans to take Schooling on an open-top bus ride, although that is dependent on his schedule.
