SINGAPORE - As Singaporean actors made their glamorous debut on the Hollywood red carpet for upcoming movie Crazy Rich Asians earlier this week, something marred the event: Errors in Singapore's tourism logo on the backdrop.
In photos that have now circulated around the world, it is evident that there are at least two errors on the board situated just behind where the stars stop to pose for pictures.
Singapore on the sign looks like it is spelt with a C - thus reading "Sincapore" - while the word "possible" in the Lion City's tourism tagline Passion Made Possible is missing an "i".
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said it had inspected the logos ahead of the red carpet.
"Prior to the official start of the premiere, STB had inspected and ensured the accuracy of our Passion Made Possible logo on the numerous event backdrop panels. In line with the protocol of movie premieres, the working team was then asked to clear the red carpet prior to the arrival of the cast," it said.
"It is most unfortunate that some time during the red carpet, part of the lettering of our logo on one of the panels must have fallen off. As Warner Brothers is our partner in this matter, STB has reached out to them for comments and is awaiting a reply from them."
In a statement on Saturday, a Warner Brothers spokesperson said some of the lettering on the red carpet wall had melted due to extreme heat leading to the errors.
"The Los Angeles premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures' "Crazy Rich Asians" was a celebration of both the film and the beauty and excitement of Singapore. Unfortunately, due to extreme heat that day, some of the lettering on our red carpet wall melted after the event commenced and, in some photography, Singapore appears to be misspelled. We sincerely apologise for any distress or embarrassment this may have caused," the statement said.
Movie fan Sherlene Li, 39, who works as a human resource manager, felt that the errors were "embarrassing" for Singapore.
She said: "This is the one event where Singapore can really promote itself overseas, but it looks like we couldn't even spell Singapore correctly. It's terrible."
Crazy Rich Asians, which opens in Singapore cinemas on Aug 22, is based on the bestselling book by Singapore-born writer Kevin Kwan.
Centred on the romance between Chinese-American protagonist Rachel Chu and Singapore's most eligible bachelor Nick Young, the story looks at the lives of the ultra rich and famous here.
