SINGAPORE - The annual Singapore Cocktail Festival (SGCF) will be a two-part affair this year, with a week's worth of cocktail events in May and a three-day festival village in October.

The split is in light of the coronavirus, or Covid-19, situation not abating, and Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (Dorscon) orange advising against large scale gatherings.

From May 15 to 22, bars across Singapore will play host to various bar tours, drinks promotions and experiences as part of the SGCF City Takeover.

The festival village - initially meant to run from May 15 to 17 at the Bayfront Event Space next to Marina Bay Sands - will instead be held from Oct 23 to 25, where it will host some of the World's and Asia's 50 best bars for masterclasses and pop-up bars.

All tickets bought for the Festival Village will be honoured on the new dates. Those who wish to get a refund can e-mail hello@ singaporecocktailfestival.com by April 5. Tickets are also transferable and ticket holders can edit their details on Eventbrite.

"Putting the safety of our guests as a priority, it makes sense for us to postpone the launch of the SGCF Festival Village, where we expect a turnout of up to 10,000 attendees," said SGCF co-founder Wai Mayleng, in a statement to the press on Thursday (March 5).

Meanwhile, the Asia's 50 Best Bars ceremony, which is meant to be a precursor to SGCF, will be held on May 14 at the Capitol Theatre.

Singapore will also host The World's 50 Best Bars awards in 2021, making it the first city outside of London to do so.