World Aquatics Championships in Singapore will be ‘cost-effective’, say organisers

SINGAPORE – Organisers of the 2025 World Aquatics Championships have stressed that one of their key priorities is to “create a positive event experience for athletes and spectators while being fiscally prudent and cost-effective” when the prestigious event is held in Singapore from July 11 to Aug 3.

This comes after an earlier announcement that two events (swimming and artistic swimming) would be moved from the 12,000-capacity Singapore Indoor Stadium to a temporary 4,800-seat facility built on a carpark near the Kallang Tennis and Kallang Football Hubs.

According to industry sources, the world championships are expected to cost the hosts approximately US$100 million (S$134.2 million) – a 41 to 49 per cent increase from the preliminary planning budget of S$90 million to S$95 million.

Four other aquatic disciplines will feature in the event – diving, high diving, open water swimming and water polo.

The initial figure, which did not fully factor in sponsorship fees, was an estimate and subject to detailed discussions with World Aquatics.

Sources told The Straits Times that the world governing body had asked for increased fees in areas such as broadcast rights and hospitality, and over the year-long period of extensive negotiations in 2023 and 2024, both parties agreed to a US$100 million to US$110 million budget, which could be defrayed by corporate sponsorships. 

While he did not provide any figures, Singapore 2025 organising committee co-chair Alan Goh, who is also chief executive officer of national agency Sport Singapore, said on July 22 in response to queries: “One of our top priorities is to create a positive event experience for athletes and spectators while being fiscally prudent and cost-effective. 

“We are budgeting for the event, with reference from past editions of World Aquatics Championships as well as possible sponsorships.”

The last two editions of the championships in Doha 2024 and Fukuoka 2023 had budgets of around US$150 million and over US$200 million respectively.

It is understood that World Aquatics is keen to work with Singapore to deliver the event at a lower budget to keep it sustainable for future host cities. 

The cost of hosting the championships made headlines recently, after Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post reported on July 13 that “while the initial plan was to hold the prestigious World Aquatics Championships in Singapore’s 55,000-seat National Stadium, sources told This Week in Asia some swimming events had to be relocated as costs were underestimated in the initial bid”.

When it was

first announced in February 2023 that Singapore would stage

the championships, the National Stadium was mooted as the venue for swimming. But in January, it was reported that swimming and artistic swimming would be moved to the Indoor Stadium.

On July 12, organisers said the events would instead be hosted at a temporary facility in Kallang. The water polo and diving events will be at the OCBC Aquatic Centre, while Sentosa will host open water swimming (Palawan Beach) and high diving (Palawan Green).

Sources told ST that the decision to hold the events at a temporary venue was made with a few key considerations in mind. The National Stadium is too big a venue as the last two editions were held at 15,000-seater arenas, with average daily attendances ranging from 3,000 to 5,000.

A feasibility study conducted on the Indoor Stadium recommended more piling than expected for safety, which would have added extra months to the schedule and affected existing events at the venue.

Putting in a swimming pool at the indoor facility would also reduce capacity from 12,000 to 6,000 due to the pool’s elevation.

Goh said: “The temporary arena is a purpose-built venue which can meet the requirements of the championships. It will house a competition pool, a warmup pool, ample spectator seats and dedicated areas for community events.

“We’ve done a cost-benefit analysis and also referenced the approach of past editions of the World Aquatics Championships held in Hungary, Japan and most recently in Doha, where between two and six temporary pools were built by the respective local organising teams.”

He added that the temporary facility could be used “as a training or competition venue for local and regional meets before and after the championships”.

ST understands that one consideration is for Singapore Aquatics to use the venue to prepare for competitions like the 2029 SEA Games held here, while the Toa Payoh Swimming Complex is currently being renovated.

• Additional reporting by Deepanraj Ganesan