SINGAPORE - There were 12 slots available in the first weekend of a live busking pilot here, but over 80 applications were made for them, with buskers eager to make a return to performing for a live crowd.

Ms Koh Jau Chern, assistant director for access and social participation at the National Arts Council (NAC), said there are more than 350 performers in the list of endorsed buskers. Of those, about 90 per cent of them are solo or paired acts, which is a criterion for participating in the trial.

The trial began on Friday (Dec 4) and runs till Dec 19. The first weekend's sessions were held at *Scape on Friday and Saturday. From next weekend, there will also be acts performing at The Central in Clarke Quay.

"We make our best efforts to ensure that every available busking slot is occupied by a different busker," said Ms Koh, who was speaking to the media at *Scape on Saturday.

Buskers will be able to play hour-long sets, inclusive of a 15-minute period of sanitising between each set.

The acts have to wear masks and maintain a safe distance from the audience when they are performing. While they can talk to the audience, they cannot physically engage with them.

Spaces have also been marked out in the sitting areas surrounding the stage, so that audience members can maintain their distance from one another, and can hang out in groups of a maximum of five people.

The traditional method of dropping cash as gratuities to the performers has also been replaced by QR codes which audiences can scan to make contactless transactions.

This digitalisation initiative was a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, said Ms Koh. NAC will also assist buskers to pivot to this e-collection method if they need help.

"For these trials to take place, we have had to ensure that a robust set of safe management measures are in place," said Ms Koh.

"We also ensure that the venue partners are able to actually carry them through, and at the same time of course from the buskers' perspective, that they are also comfortable, and still presenting their performances as well as still be able to engage their audiences."

Ms Koh highlighted some challenges in planning for the pilot.

"With busking activities, you will see that there is actually a very high level of interaction with audiences. At the same time, activities tend to take place in ungated spaces, unlike live performances. So it is important that when we roll out these different pilots, we take a phased approach," she said.

When asked about the plans for the busking sector moving forward, Ms Koh said that NAC will collate feedback from the buskers and venue partners after the trial, and also discuss with the relevant government authorities, before deciding on the next step.

"I think we definitely hope to be able to gradually see the return of live busking on the streets, of course with safe management measures in places," said Ms Koh.

Mr Patrick Wan, 62, a ventriloquist and magician, said he was excited to be able to perform for a live audience again after nine months.

Mr Wan, who has been busking for over 30 years, said that during the down time, he did virtual shows once in a while to keep his skills sharp, but the experience could not compare to performing in real life.

"We can have a stage (now), we can have real audiences. You see just now the interaction, when the audience clapped and they danced, it's a very marvelous experience," he said, after his hour-long set on Saturday.

Guitarist Alan Ang Moncayo, 21, said that performing on virtual shows was different from street busking where one can be discovered by people passing by. It is more difficult to attract an audience for virtual shows as it requires people to search for the performer's live feed, he added.

The Nanyang Technological University first-year student, who also performed on Saturday, added that the digital format of collecting gratuities might lower the income of buskers.

"I think it is more convenient for people to just drop money... into a little basket or whatever you have," he said.

He said people who are not tech savvy may be discouraged from donating as they may not be willing to go to the trouble of finding out how to use the digital platform.