From Bishan to Beijing and Woodlands to Wall Street, The Straits Times has been telling your stories – big, small and everything else in between. Through war and peace, from neighbourhoods to negotiating tables, the first draft of history unfolds daily across ST’s front pages.
Do a quick search or take a deep dive into our analysis of nearly 49,000 Page 1 headlines and find out which are the stories that have touched and moved Singapore. There were some headlines that captured readers’ eyeballs more than others, from local issues such as estate upgrading and MRT breakdowns to global affairs like trade deals and conflicts.
Beginning at home, we zoom in on a few of our local communities that have made headlines over the years.
Each line on the graph represents one neighbourhood. This is Toa Payoh.
The more times a neighbourhood appears on Page 1, the thicker the line. For example, Tengah, a new residential estate, made the headlines frequently in 2022.
In 2023, Queenstown was in the headlines for million-dollar Housing Board resale flats, and a plan to build new parks and exercise trails.
In the earlier years, Queenstown grabbed the headlines for crimes. In 1972, Singapore’s most wanted gunman, Lim Ban Lim, was shot dead in an ambush and a police shoot-out there, ending a months-long manhunt.
In 1983, Queenstown was one of three areas – along with Bedok and Jalan Besar – chosen for a decentralised National Day Parade, bringing festivities to the heartland.
In December 1954, Bedok dominated the headlines after the area was hit by massive floods, with hundreds of villagers evacuated on boats. Many later demanded compensation for damaged homes and crops.
More than half a century later in 2016, Bedok was transformed into a popular town, with some of the highest demand for Build-To-Order HDB flats in the country. Many were drawn to the mature estate and its relative connectivity to the Central Business District.
Let’s look at one of Singapore’s youngest towns, Punggol. In 1996, the Government announced plans to transform what was then a fishing community into a “modern seaside town” with a mix of public and private housing.
Almost two decades later, the Government unveiled plans for the Punggol Digital District – Singapore’s first smart district – transforming that part of the town into a mini Silicon Valley.
But the front pages of ST are more than just local news. Swipe through the timeline below to explore other key news, based on the significance of certain words that year.
Explore the “topic” of the year in our interactive, or drag the slider to discover what were the issues of the day and how ST covered them.
Browse ST’s front pages
What were the top stories on the day you were born? Use the date picker and look for a specific ST edition.
Explore other key topics
Want to dive deeper into the headlines? Take time to explore the front-page news, grouped into nine topics: epidemics foreign affairs local towns Singapore’s key places vice and crime security and progress sports culture technology
How to read the charts
The charts help you visualise how frequently a topic was mentioned in the headlines and summaries of The Straits Times and The Sunday Times. We used an algorithm* that gives weight to how important subjects were in their respective years.
Example: London
The keyword “London” peaked during 1940, when a bombing campaign by the Germans took place during World War II.
The history of the world is inextricably tied to infectious diseases and humanity’s attempts to overcome them. Singapore’s population started expanding rapidly upon the arrival of the British in 1819. Throughout the major events of the past, the people of Singapore have struggled against infectious diseases. Many of these calamities were documented and reported by ST.
A lot of the infectious diseases were those associated with poor hygiene issues, such as inadequate sewage facilities and crowded living environments during the 1800s and in the early to mid-1900s. Later, Singapore would go on to tackle other diseases, such as dengue, Sars, Zika and, most recently, Covid-19.
Epidemics
Relevant mentions of various epidemics over time
records year after year
Relevant mentions of Covid-19 over time
and “influenza”, “Covid-19” had
been hitting the headlines only
recently; its algorithm score
was literally off the charts
#cholera
The Straits Times Jun 21, 1895
Cholera pandemic in the 1890s
From 1895 to 1896, cholera spread worldwide, and cities like Bangkok, Cairo and Colombo were continually in the news. The ST edition on June 21, 1895, reported how the disease spread in Singapore – mostly in Tanjong Pagar and the then Rochor area. The monthly death rate rose to as high as 770 deaths. The government alleged that the municipality ignored the alarm.
#malaria
The Straits Times Jun 9, 1935
ST campaign to fight malaria in the 1910s
In the 1910s, ST published a series of articles, titled To Conquer Malaria: Words Of Wisdom From A Physician’s Pen, which educated readers on the effects of malaria and the fight against the disease.
#polio
The Sunday Times Oct 19, 1958
Polio outbreak in Singapore in 1958
Singapore was hit by a polio epidemic in 1958. The Sunday Times headline of Oct 19, 1958, said 13 new cases were reported that day. The disease was described to have spread quickly, with 12 cases in the first six days, 25 in the next six days, and 43 in the six days after that.
#smallpox
The Straits Times Apr 18, 1959
First smallpox death in 1959
A 49-year-old was reported on April 18, 1959, to be the first to die of smallpox in Singapore. The patient was at the then Middleton Hospital. The first case had been a child quarantined in the same hospital, who had travelled from Penang to Singapore by train.
#sars
The Straits Times Apr 1, 2003
War on Sars in 2003
Sars headlines were a daily occurrence from March to June 2003. Between November 2002 and July 2003, 8,096 cases and 774 deaths were reported globally. In Singapore, 238 people were infected, with 33 deaths.
#dengue
The Straits Times Apr 8, 2008
Worst dengue epidemic in 2008
There was a 60 per cent increase in dengue cases from January to April 2008, compared with the same period in 2005. Some $200,000 a day had been spent in an effort to fight what might be the worst dengue epidemic in Singapore. More than 28,900 cases were reported in the first 8½ months of 2019.
#covid19
The Straits Times Feb 5, 2020
First Covid-19 local transmissions
The headline on Feb 5, 2020, was on Singapore’s first cases of local coronavirus transmission. Four women who never travelled to Wuhan – where the virus was first detected – were infected. Almost two years later, the world was still battling against Covid-19, which had claimed more than five million lives globally. As at November 2021, Singapore had seen some 262,000 cases and more than 700 deaths.
In colonial-era Singapore, from the 1800s to the 1940s, ST had mostly mentions of locations where trading transactions relevant to Singapore occurred, such as China and London.
After Singapore became a crown colony in 1946, mentions of locations in ST grew in variety. As London’s influence in Asia gradually decreased, there was more coverage of countries, such as the United States and Malaysia, and cities like Jakarta, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, in ST.
Foreign affairs
Relevant mentions of various countries over time
Relevant mentions of various cities over time
during World War II
#london
The Sunday Times Sep 1, 1940
Bombings in London during World War II
Stories about London peaked around the time of bombings during World War II. Mentions of “London” gradually fell after the war and after Singapore became independent.
#united states
The Sunday Times Sep 15, 1940
America’s role in World War II in Asia-Pacific
Mentions of “US” surged during and after World War II from the 1940s to the 1950s, reflecting a new global player in the Asia-Pacific region.
#malaysia
The Straits Times Aug 10, 1965
Singapore’s union with Malaysia
Singapore joined Malaysia in 1963, only to separate again two years later. Mentions of “Malaysia” peaked in the years before and after the separation.
#jakarta
The Sunday Times Sep 5, 1965
Indonesia (Jakarta) – Malaysia confrontation
From 1963 to 1966, Indonesia opposed the formation of Malaysia, which resulted in violent confrontations. During the 1998 financial crisis, Indonesia was one of the hardest-hit countries.
#bangkok
The Straits Times Jul 10, 1976
Forgeries in the 1900s, bombs and coups in the 1970s in Bangkok
Bank fraud was the reason Bangkok made the news in the 1900s. In the 1970s, many stories reported on the city were of civil unrest.
#china
The Straits Times Jan 31, 1996
China and the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis, 1990s - 2000s
The Taiwan Strait crises were a recurring issue between China and Taiwan. The first conflict lasted seven months between 1954 and 1955, the second in 1958 lasted a month, and the third and most recent about eight months between 1995 and 1996.
We used data to identify the most noteworthy towns of their respective times and curated the headlines to give insight into how early Singaporeans lived. Tanjong Pagar had been notably mentioned around 1905 because of the Tanjong Pagar Docking company, earlier known for its facilities to repair vessels coming from the West.
Around the 1920s, Bukit Timah was associated with the long history of horse racing and the fun at the Singapore Turf Club. And who would have thought the site of the old Changi Air Base would later become known as one of the world’s most renowned international airports?
Local towns
Relevant mentions of various local places over time
in Woodlands were on the rise
#tanjong pagar
The Straits Times Sep 14, 1903
Tanjong Pagar Dock Company established
Tanjong Pagar was home to a ship repair company from the 1860s to the 1930s. Most mentions were about the company’s meetings and financial reports. Its workshop was recognised as “one of the most complete in the East” in terms of facilities, which included a foundry.
#bukit timah
The Sunday Times Jun 4, 1933
Record-breaking races at Bukit Timah’s Turf Club
Bukit Timah was mentioned in the 1920s because of the Singapore Turf Club and horse racing. In 1933, an ST headline reported that the track had seen its biggest crowd after two record-breaking races.
#kallang
The Sunday Times Nov 3, 1935
Before Changi, there was Kallang Airport
Once poised to become Singapore’s air hub, Kallang Airport saw a series of incidents within a period of three years. These included a Thai plane going into a ditch in 1953, a plane crash in 1954 that had 33 casualties, and an emergency landing of a Qantas Skymaster plane in 1955.
#woodlands
The Straits Times Apr 23, 1991
Urban development in Woodlands
In the 1990s, Woodlands saw the development of significant infrastructure projects. The Government encouraged Singaporeans to move to the soon-to-be mini city. Other notable stories were related to border checkpoints and MRT projects.
#changi
The Straits Times Nov 29, 1988
The rise of Changi Airport – 1980s to present
Since Changi Airport’s conception in the 1980s, new terminals have opened, passenger traffic has risen and facilities have been upgraded. Today, it is one of the most renowned airports in the world.
Singapore is, by all metrics, a small country, but within it, there are places that all of us recognise as special. Whether it’s Fort Canning, the political centre of the ancient Malay kingdom; or the Botanic Gardens, Singapore’s first Unesco heritage site, these places have claimed a slice of Singapore’s heritage – and a fair share of front-page headlines over the years.
Jurong, the country’s first industrial town, and Dakota, one of the oldest housing estates here, also made it to the list, reflecting Singapore’s unique ability to blend nature with urban living.
Key places in Singapore
Relevant mentions of key places over time
first industrial town
#fort canning
The Straits Times Jan 28, 1984
On Fort Canning, where kings lived
Once known as Bukit Larangan, or the “Forbidden Hill”, Fort Canning was in the centre of Singapore politics as early as the 14th century, and was home to the old Malay kings and, later, Sir Stamford Raffles.
In colonial times, foreign ships exchanged salutes with Fort Canning when passing through. One reader wrote in to express concern that the light from Fort Canning’s lighthouse could be making navigation difficult for some ship captains.
More recently, mentions of it spiked in 2010, a nod to the hill’s continued relevance for its performance space, its nature trails and the location of Hotel Fort Canning, which opened its doors that year after a $70 million makeover.
#dakota
The Straits Times Dec 12, 2017
Goodbye Dakota, one of Singapore’s oldest public housing estates
Dakota is one of Singapore’s oldest public housing estates – built even before the Housing Development Board started in 1960.
When it was announced in 2015 that Dakota was slated for redevelopment, there was a public debate over how its icons, such as the dove playground, should be preserved.
The peaks on the graph in the 1940s are mostly mentions of the Dakota airplane, a military transport aircraft then in widespread use. This, too, is related to the estate, with some suggesting that it was named after a tragic crash of a Dakota aircraft at Kallang Airport in 1946. Kallang Airport’s boundary extended into the area occupied by Dakota estate when it was still operational.
#jurong
The Sunday Times Jan 9, 2011
Jurong: ‘Orchard Road of the West’
Jurong suddenly became hip in 2013, with some hailing it as the “Orchard Road of the West”.
There was much buzz over JCube’s Olympic-size ice skating rink and the outlet centre at IMM, as well as malls like Jem, Westgate and Big Box. Business parks and the Ng Teng Fong General Hospital also helped shape the erstwhile backwater into a commercial hub and medical centre.
Dr Goh Keng Swee, while he was defence and finance minister, engineered the area’s first transformation between the 1960s and 1980s from marshes and crocodile-infested rivers into Singapore’s first industrial estate.
#botanic gardens
The Sunday Times Jul 5, 2015
Botanic Gardens: Singapore’s first Unesco world heritage site
Established in 1859, the Singapore Botanic Gardens is the country’s first and only Unesco world heritage site.
Its inscription by Unesco in 2015 was a tribute to its role in the rubber trade in the 1900s, when its first director, Sir Henry Nicholas Ridley, pioneered a new way of tapping rubber that shifted the global rubber trade from Brazil to South-east Asia.
He promoted the planting of rubber trees through the Botanic Gardens, setting a precedent for the role it would play in later years, when it supported the Government’s Garden City programme to get more people interested in planting trees.
Through ST’s headlines, we see how the vice and crime landscape has changed over the years. ST covered stories about opium for almost half of its 180 years, mainly from the 1850s to the 1930s, tracing how the drug shifted from a common commodity to becoming an illegal article.
We also look back at the events that triggered the move to regulate alcohol and smoking, as well as the nation’s grim past of shootings and murders.
Vice and crime
Relevant mentions of various vices over time
for almost 90 years
Relevant mentions of various crimes over time
during a plane hijacking at
Changi Airport
#opium
The Straits Times Aug 10, 1878
From opium trade in the 1890s to smuggling and raids in the 1940s
An article on Aug 10, 1878, addressed the “evil effects” of smoking opium. Most of ST’s coverage focused on the 1880s boom in opium farming, the 1890s anti-opium movement and the 1940s ban.
#murder
The Straits Times Dec 8, 1970
Murders in the 1950s to 1980s
Dance hostess Mimi Wong and her husband were sentenced to death for the murder of her Japanese lover’s wife in Jalan Sea View on Jan 6, 1970. She collapsed multiple times during the 26-day hearing.
#shooting
The Sunday Times Nov 26, 1972
Singapore’s ‘most wanted’ gunman shot dead (shooting)
Stories about shootings were common from the 1950s to the 1980s. Lim Ban Lim, the “most wanted gunman”, was shot dead on Nov 24, 1972, during a gun battle at a night market in Margaret Drive.
#smoking
The Straits Times Mar 3, 1987
Smoking ban in the 1980s
There was a wide call in the 1980s to ban smoking in public places – from MRT trains to supermarkets. A headline on March 3, 1987, mentioned how the Government enacted the strictest measures then to control smoking.
#terrorism
The Straits Times Feb 28, 2008
Acts of terrorism in the 2000s
Terrorism-related headlines peaked in the late 2000s. One of the most prominent stories was about a massive manhunt operation involving thousands of policemen and Gurkhas. It started after Mas Selamat Kastari, a terrorist who had planned to crash a hijacked plane into Changi Airport, escaped from detention.
#alcohol
The Straits Times Dec 13, 2013
Alcohol ban due to the Little India riot
The Little India riot on Dec 9, 2013, triggered a call to restrict alcohol use, and plans for an alcohol ban, declining alcohol sales, and new regulations took over the headlines.
#heroin
The Straits Times Jan 13, 1975
Worldwide trend in heroin raids in 1970s
In the 1970s, heroin raids and hauls were widely reported locally and worldwide. One of these was a $5 million heroin haul, one of the largest European drug seizures. The authorities intercepted 41kg of heroin and detained 22 Malaysians in Vienna, Austria.
During the Japanese Occupation in the 1940s, ST’s facilities were used by propagandists to produce The Shonan Times and The Syonan Shimbun. After the war ended, ST was back on the news-stands. Riots and tragic fire incidents became the norm from the 1950s to the 1980s.
But Singapore then went from being a place with volatile issues to one of peace and order, and of economic strength, today.
Security and progress
Relevant mentions of security-related words over time
during World War II
Relevant mentions of progress-related words over time
#war
The Sunday Times Dec 28, 1941
World War II in Asia
There were two notable peaks – reports about World War I in Europe in the 1910s and news of World War II in Europe and Asia in the 1940s. On Dec 28, 1941, The Sunday Times’ headline was about the day the Japanese bombed Manila, signalling that World War II in Asia had begun.
#peace
The Straits Times Sep 7, 1945
Liberation of Singapore peace
After 1,318 days of Japanese occupation, British forces retook Singapore when the Asian superpower surrendered. ST published its first article after the war on Sept 7, 1945.
#fire
The Straits Times Jun 1, 1961
Bukit Ho Swee fire in 1961
The Bukit Ho Swee fire was among the biggest ones in Singapore. On May 25, 1961, the blaze ravaged 40.5ha of houses, schools and shops, resulting in 16,000 homeless residents and four deaths.
#riot
The Straits Times Jul 23, 1964
1964 racial riots
Reports of post-war riots and social unrest trended from the 1950s to the 1980s, both at home and abroad. In Singapore, the 1964 racial riots were a series of clashes between Malays and Chinese, when Singapore was then part of the Federation of Malaysia.
#economy
The Straits Times Jan 1, 1988
Rapid economic growth in the 1980s
Starting in the 1980s, Singapore experienced rapid economic growth. Founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew grabbed the headlines on Jan 1, 1988, when he expressed confidence in the Republic’s economy. The economy had seen an 8.6 per cent growth despite having come out from the 1985-1986 recession.
In past centuries, when planes had not yet taken to the skies, the world was a concept too difficult to grasp. Now, it sits in the palm of our hands. Facebook, now Meta, has connected people yet divided users with its algorithms that critics say encourage polarisation.
Driverless vehicles are now the new transport frontier, while space, previously
Technology
Relevant mentions of words related to technology over time
went virtual on platforms like Facebook
amid Covid-19
Does Facebook unite or divide us?
Founded in 2004 by Harvard University students, including Mr Mark Zuckerberg and Mr Eduardo Saverin, Facebook grew quickly to become the largest social networking site in the world, with more than a billion users in 2012.
Articles in ST in 2006 praised it for allowing people all over the world to interact “while dressed in (their) ratty pyjamas and picking at (their) toes”, while also warning of its dangers – identity theft and cyber stalking.
Fast forward to this decade and Facebook’s larger destabilising effect on society is now better understood. Following alleged Russian interference and data leaks in the lead-up to the 2016 US election, there have been calls worldwide for Facebook to better curb hate speech, regulate fake news and ensure that its algorithm does not unduly promote violent and divisive viral media.
Its latest headline? It will change its parent company name to “Meta” and potentially pivot to developing a fantastic, virtual reality “metaverse”.
#space
The Straits Times Mar 19, 1965
The billionaires fuelling a space race
Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, George Lucas’ Star Wars and Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris were all filmed at the height of the Cold War, which did wonders for space travel as the United States and the Soviet Union extended their competition outside the planet.
The Soviet Union successfully put the first human into space, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, in 1961, and the United States’ 1969 moon landing remains one of the most enduring images for human ambition.
After a brief dip in interest in the early 21st century, space is now once more all the rage. Its importance for communication and navigation is well-established, while billionaires like Amazon chief Jeff Bezos and Tesla founder Elon Musk have begun their own private space race, echoing that by governments just 50 years ago.
#autonomous
The Straits Times Oct 24, 2019
Autonomous vehicles and tech trials
Autonomous vehicles, or self-driving cars, are still in their infancy, with technology giant Google first leading the charge in 2010 with its Self-Driving Car project.
Since then, Singapore has shown a keen interest in the technology, seeing potential answers to manpower problems in driverless buses and unmanned road sweepers. The Government has said people in Punggol, Tengah and Jurong Innovation District will be able to commute in autonomous buses from 2022. A handful of trials, including at Sentosa, Singapore Armed Forces camps and on Jurong Island, have been conducted without much of a hitch.
However, observers say the technology is still five to 10 years from being rolled out more broadly, and concerns over safety and insurance remain.
#smart
The Straits Times Mar 21, 2017
From smart home to Smart Nation
The Smart Nation initiative was launched in 2014. It has shaped people’s lives immensely since, generating the QR codes for e-payment at hawker centres, the digital identity card in the Singpass app and sensors that track anything from water usage to commuter footfall.
It takes its name from smart devices, which are able to connect to other machines and share information, creating an Internet of Things – the culmination of modern technology.
As more people buy smart products, there is increasing apprehension about cyber security.
#gaming
The Straits Times Aug 15, 2005
Gaming takes on a whole new meaning
Gaming meant something very different in the past. In the 1850s, it largely referred to gambling, with almost every instance of its mention involving the police.
But the use of the word has since changed. In 2007, talk was largely of managing computer game addiction. The principal of Montfort Secondary School at the time fought for a gaming centre to be built on campus. He said that it would stop students from having to patronise gaming centres elsewhere, where they could be exposed to vices like smoking.
Cybersports was also beginning to be called a sport after Singapore hosted the World Cyber Games in 2005. This prompted a reader to express concerns that elevating gamers to athletes could be bad for the physical and mental health of youth.
Today, Singapore is setting its sights on becoming a world force in e-sports. The Republic’s games and e-sports market was estimated to have grown 15 per cent between 2019 and 2020.
From rugby and cricket to football and cycling, the sports scene in Singapore is, in some ways, also a story of post-colonialism, as the influence of traditionally British sports waned with the years.
But in every field, Singaporeans have continued to strive, whether competitively or recreationally. Cycling, in particular, has become almost a national obsession amid Covid-19, while the Olympics has, every four years, brought the world together to cheer on its athletes and revel in the endurance and ambition of the human spirit.
Sports
Relevant mentions of sports-related words over time
“road safety” for cyclists
#cycling
The Straits Times Dec 23, 2015
Cycling craze began in the 19th century
The popularity of cycling may have gathered speed in recent years, but the original bike craze here and abroad started way back in the late 19th century.
The invention of the bicycle with equal-sized wheels and pneumatic tires was exhilarating to ordinary people not yet used to such mobility, although the fad waned quickly as more cars took to the roads.
Now, the trend appears to have slightly reversed. With more cyclists on the roads – some of whom flout rules – there have been calls for more public education on how roads can be shared.
#olympics
The Sunday Times Aug 12, 2016
Celebrating Olympics, the global sporting phenomenon
The global sporting phenomenon made its way into people’s homes with the television from 1963, although some editions have been more closely watched than others.
The 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, boycotted during the Cold War by the Soviet Union and its allies, including East Germany, garnered much attention.
More recently, the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics stood out, with nearly 15 per cent of the world tuning in to watch the opening ceremony.
In 2016, Singapore’s Joseph Schooling beat world champion Michael Phelps in the 100m butterfly event, clinching the Republic’s first Olympic gold medal.
#cricket
The Straits Times Mar 1, 2006
Cricket in the colonial era
Mentions of cricket peaked during the colonial era as the British established settlements here and around the world.
By the late 1880s, the Singapore Cricket Club regularly toured China, Burma and Sri Lanka, and the first official game between Singapore and Malaya was played in 1905.
The sport became less popular here with the departure of expatriates during the Great Depression, and later the British. But there was a brief surge in interest in 2007, with pundits urging Singapore to set its sights on the 2011 Cricket World Cup.
#soccer
The Sunday Times Mar 12, 1995
Soccer fever grips the nation
Football picked up where cricket left off, with local teams such as the Singapore Chinese Football Association making waves as early as the 1920s.
The year 1994 was one of the highest points in Singapore football history, with the Lions winning both the Malaysia Premier League and Malaysia Cup – a feat celebrated by 20,000 fans at the National Stadium. Singapore soon pulled out of the Malaysia Cup and interest in the local team has somewhat languished.
Beyond the pitch, the street version of this popular sport took off in a big way in 1995, when then Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong launched the National Street Soccer League.
#rugby
The Sunday Times Jan 29, 1933
Rugby in its heyday
Comparatively, rugby is not a major sport in Singapore and efforts to get more people to pick it up here have been gradual at best.
Its heyday here was in the early 20th century, when Singapore teams predominantly made up of expatriates competed in interstate games against other state sides in Malaya. Notable Singaporeans who played in the sport included Yee Teck Peng and Natahar Bava.
Interestingly, “rugby” also made headlines in the late 1920s because it was the name of a then newly built radio station in England. From the site, the British government set up a wireless telephony service that helped connect the British empire.
#table tennis
The Sunday Times Apr 16, 2018
Table tennis and ‘ping-pong diplomacy’
Before table tennis became one of Singapore’s most popular competitive sports, it found itself at the centre of the Cold War as communist China engaged the United States through its famous “ping-pong diplomacy”.
A table tennis game between the US and China paved the way for then President Richard Nixon’s visit to Beijing in 1972, initiating a detente from frosty relations.
Fast forward to this century and table tennis has become one of Singapore’s most-watched sports.
Paddler Li Jiawei first raised Singapore’s hopes by thrice narrowly missing the individual bronze medal at the Olympics, and also led her team to a women’s team silver medal in 2008. Feng Tianwei then became Singapore’s most decorated Olympian – her three outings have secured the country two bronze medals and one silver.
In many ways, the local cultural scene is now more vibrant than ever. Whether in film, art, music or dance, people are flying Singapore’s flag high on the
In art and film, practitioners have built on the achievements of cultural pioneers. What stands out for music and gaming is the way the mediums have evolved, with technology an obvious driver of change.
Culture
Relevant mentions of words related to culture over time
year honours degree in music
#arts
The Straits Times Feb 6, 2012
Giving a boost to the arts
The year 2007 was an interesting year for art. Debate about whether Singapore was too prudish arose after the authorities removed a painting of a naked woman covered with soap suds from the atrium of a government building. The decision was made because displays in the public area “should not offend general standards of taste and decency”.
That same year, the authorities were shortlisting designs to transform the Supreme Court and City Hall buildings into the National Gallery. The National Arts Council launched a competition with a $50,000 residency grant as the top prize – the biggest local art award at the time.
In the early days, Singapore’s art scene was held up by pioneers such as Cheong Soo Pieng, Chen Wen Hsi, Liu Kang and Chen Chong Swee. Works by these four artists, who developed the “Nanyang style” of art that Singapore became known for, are today displayed in the National Gallery.
#music
The Straits Times Jun 1, 2007
The music revolution
Some called it the music revolution. Despite its long history, the medium was in for a shock in the early 21st century, when the way people listened to music fundamentally changed.
After CDs, tunes began to be stored differently, first in memory cards, then simply online. Singapore was one of the first places to experience digital music, with Nokia launching its unlimited music download service for mobile phones first in Britain, then Australia and Singapore in 2008.
Music studies was also professionalised here, with the National University of Singapore having offered music degrees since 2002.
#dance
The Straits Times Oct 24, 1983
The diverse dance traditions of Singapore
The most citations for “dance” in ST was in 2004, beginning with the death of ballroom dancing legend Low Poh San, who died on New Year’s Eve at the age of 90.
The rest of the year saw varied stories in the paper about dance: There was a forum letter clarifying that lion dance was unrelated to Taoist theology, as well as a feature of a 120kg salsa enthusiast who felt that the Latin dance was “a great way to meet girls”.
It was a long way from when the Singapore Dance Theatre was first set up in 1984 as a ballet group. The range of dances that have since emerged has prompted the authorities to designate some forms of dance as part of Singapore’s intangible cultural heritage.
#movies
The Straits Times Apr 23, 2018
Movies made in Singapore
Local director Anthony Chen earned acclaim in 2013 for his debut feature Ilo Ilo, becoming the first Singaporean to win the Cannes Film Festival Camera d’Or. But local cinema extends further back. It was the 1990s that saw Singaporean-produced films first gain traction. These include seminal works like Mee Pok Man and Singapore Dreaming.
The peak in citations in 2004 coincided with the new Mature 18 rating category. This allowed those aged between 18 and 21 to watch quality films with mature themes that they would have been excluded from under the previous Restricted (Artistic) rating. The year largely established the film classification system that we know today.
In 2004, the R(A) rating, which had previously restricted such films to cinemas in the Central Business District, was replaced with R21.