Urban street football, breakdance and a Japanese rock music event are among the highlights of the 16th Singapore Street Festival, which kicked off on Sunday outside Bugis Junction.
The festival, which runs until July 9, aims to encourage youth to explore their talents through myriad arts, music and sports events.
Its central theme is Unchartered - a concept which founder Annie Pek, 61, says is a call to action.
"I want to challenge youth to try new things they've never done before and to think of their next steps as people and performers. Local artists such as Dick Lee and JJ Lin renew themselves all the time - what are the millennials looking forward to?"
The events will take place at various venues such as *Scape and Raffles City. About 2,000 performers are expected this year.
Festival activities include competitions such as the Big Bang Super Street Dance Festival, in which breakdancers pit their skills against one another in dance moves such as popping and locking.
South Korean breakdancer Hong10, a two-time winner of international breakdancing competition Redbull BC One, will be on the panel of judges. The event, which takes place on June 30 and July 2, will be held at *Scape.
Football fans can look forward to Urban Street Football, where youth battle it out on the field in games of football and panna, an offshoot of traditional football. The event will be held at Bugis Junction today and tomorrow.
In panna, two opposing players try to score as many goals against each other as they can in a minute.
All competitions are open to participants aged 14 to 39.
Other festival highlights include the D'J Party, a music and dance event centred on Japanese culture. The event takes place on June 17 and 18 at the space outside Raffles City and features 40 to 50 performing acts, including home-grown J-rock groups Good Game and Shiranui.
According to event youth leader Jun Yang, 35, this is a record number for the festival.
"Not many places encourage amateur indie bands to try out their styles," he says. "Here, we teach performers what to look out for and I have seen great improvement in many of the youth. The best part about what I do is seeing people perform and being happy."
• The Singapore Street Festival 2017 is on until July 9. For more details, go to singaporestreetfestival.com. For inquiries, e-mail Annie Pek at annpek2011@gmail.com
