Football fans set Kallang alight in the middle of the year, with some of the sport's biggest names gracing the National Stadium's pitch.
More than 103,000 turned up for the International Champions Cup (ICC) over a July weekend to watch Manchester United edge out Inter Milan via 17-year-old Mason Greenwood's winner and Juventus' Portuguese peacock Cristiano Ronaldo preen before Harry Kane's half-field stunner earned Tottenham Hotspur a late 3-2 victory.
The United-Inter game attracted a record attendance of 52,897, before a third-highest National Stadium crowd figure of 50,443 showed up for the Juve-Spurs match, to prove that the ICC continues to be relevant even in Singapore's limited market.
Such was the demand to catch a glimpse of the United players that a sea of Red Devils fans even stormed their downtown hotel.
The current four-year agreement to host the ICC runs out next year but this year's edition shows that the appetite for top-class football action in Singapore remains - but only if the conditions are right.
Besides the draw of big names like Gianluigi Buffon, Paul Pogba, Son Heung-min, Matthijs de Ligt and Ivan Perisic in a non-World Cup or European Championship year, the ICC organisers got it right on a few more fronts as tickets were snapped up.
The teams were confirmed early in March, and the games were played on Saturday and Sunday, which allowed families and fans to attend without the majority worrying about work or school.
Early planning also allowed club sponsors to organise meet-and-greet opportunities for clients, which drummed up further excitement and awareness.
This was in stark contrast to the damp squib that was the Brazil Global Tour three months later. Despite the confirmation that Neymar, Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino would show up to face Senegal's Sadio Mane and Nigeria's Wilfred Ndidi, only 41,006 bothered to turn up.
Analysts cited contributing factors such as timing - the tour was confirmed only three weeks before the Thursday and Sunday games - and poor promotion, as fans could only catch a glimpse of their heroes at the games or outside their hotels.
With ticket sales not picking up, prices were slashed by half, and even then, the turnout was dismal as World Cup winner and Brazil national team coordinator Juninho Paulista told The Straits Times of his surprise and disappointment.
However, observers generally felt the Brazil Global Tour would not affect Singapore's image as a host for top-class sporting events, as the infrastructure and organisation capabilities remain top-notch and the key is finding the "right" teams and marketing formula.
