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We're Doing Well


While watching the exuberant performance of the YOG opening and its lavish pyrotechnics, one thing came to my mind rather quickly. Singapore's government has too much money. Okay, maybe not "too much" since there can never be too much for a country that has much to improve on, but we definitely have quite a bit. And for another great moment, we once again exhibit to the world how great a small country can be. Sure, there are some countries that could easily beat us in that grand opening we gave, but hey, those are much bigger countries and besides, they can't beat us to hosting the first youth olympics games. Seeing such a magnificant performance really made my chest swell with pride. The flame tower is certainly one of its kind, with its swirlling vortex of flame. Passive too. No fans or blowers of any kind. And it also came from the design of a miniaturised version in the Singapore Science Centre a year or two back by.... a Singaporean too!

A similar feat by Singapore occured a few years back: The first ever Formula 1 night race. No big deal? Well, let's look at the challenges. Firstly, F1 already goes to Sepang, in Malaysia, which is extremely close to Singapore, and hence would not be so economically viable to race again in Singapore since you would be limited to roughly the same group of spectators (read- less business). Secondly, Singapore already rejected hosting the race once before, and gave up on one opportunity to build a dedicated racing track. This means that the track will have to be a street circuit. The problems with street circuits are that they are narrow, uneven, and have many turns with little opportunities to go flat out having lack long straight roads that a dedicated racing track would have. Thus, much more preparation is required to get a street circuit ready for racing each year (roads are re-tarred, repainted, closed, opened, etc). Thirdly, because a majority of the Formula One spectators are in Europe, organising a race in the afternoon would also be less economically viable. That moved Singapore to the option of a night race, which has its technical challenges — mostly the lighting. The entire track had to be lit in such a way that it would not blind the drivers, and yet be as bright as day for both the drivers and the spectators. Additionally, it had to be safe in rainy conditions where puddles will form and reflect the glaring spotlights right into the eyes of the drivers. We got the race, and we did everything without a hitch, and the world was watching.

Now, tourism is on the rise, our economic recovery has been fantastic for the first half of the year and still promises to be great till the end of the year, and we have shown the world what we are capable of despite being small, almost a tiny country in South East Asia. I think we're doing well.

20:23 15 Aug 2010
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