The Float @ Marina Bay

The Float at Marina Bay
The Float at Marina Bay hosting Singapore's 42nd National Day Parade on 9 August 2007.
Location Marina Bay, Singapore
Coordinates 1°17′18″N 103°51′32″E / 1.28833°N 103.85889°E / 1.28833; 103.85889Coordinates: 1°17′18″N 103°51′32″E / 1.28833°N 103.85889°E / 1.28833; 103.85889
Owner Singapore Sports Council
Operator Singapore Sports Council
Capacity 30,000
Surface Steel
Construction
Broke ground March 2006
Opened 20 May 2007
Architect Defence Science and Technology Agency
Tenants
Singapore Sports Council
The Float@Marina Bay is the dark quadrilateral at foreground right of this view of Marina Bay from the Singapore Flyer.
The 30,000-capacity grandstand and floating platform of The Float@Marina Bay, with the Singapore Flyer in the background.
The Float@Marina Bay viewed from the Helix Bridge.

The Float at Marina Bay, stylised as The Float@Marina Bay and also known as the Marina Bay Floating Platform, is the world's largest floating stage.[1] It is located on the waters of the Marina Reservoir, in Marina Bay, Singapore.

Made entirely of steel, the floating platform on Marina Bay measures 120 by 83 metres (394 by 272 ft), which is 5% larger than the soccer field at the National Stadium.[1] The platform can bear up to 1,070 tonnes, equivalent to the total weight of 9,000 people, 200 tonnes of stage props and three 30-tonne military vehicles. The gallery at the stadium has a seating capacity of 30,000 people.[2][3]

The floating stadium will be a venue for events on the waters of Marina Bay for five years from 2007. These events may include sports, concerts, exhibitions, and the arts and cultural performances. The National Day Parade was held there annually for five years, as a temporary venue in place of the National Stadium in Kallang which was demolished to be rebuilt as part of the Singapore Sports Hub.[1]

This stadium is part of the Marina Bay Street Circuit Turns 17 and 18, which hosted the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix. More infamously, it was where Nelson Piquet, Jr. crashed his car which led to the Renault Formula One crash controversy.

Following Singapore's successful bid to host the inaugural 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, the floating stadium was under the spotlight during the Games, as the venue for the Games' opening and closing ceremonies.[4]

History

The idea of a floating platform was conceived by the organising committee of the National Day Parade, 2007. In 2004, Colonel Teo Jing Siong, the chairman of the committee, was asked to source for a new venue for the National Day Parade as the National Stadium would be demolished to make way for the new Singapore Sports Hub. Teo had considered Jalan Besar Stadium, the Singapore Turf Club and Marina South before settling on Marina Bay, partly because of the city skyline that would form a backdrop for the parade. The Singapore Government evaluated that the temporary stadium is a cost effective solution in lieu of the closure of the National Stadium that is under renovation for 8 years.[1][5]

In 2005, Teo's committee worked with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Singapore Sports Council on the design of the floating platform, which could also be used to host other major events.[5]

After the design was finalised, the contractor, SembCorp Marine,[3][6] started construction of the floating platform in March 2006. The stage took 13 months to build, and by April 2007, the platform and seating gallery were completed and officially opened by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.[5]

Construction

Many considerations were taken into account during the design phase for the construction of the floating platform. The Defence Science and Technology Agency, the platform's chief planner and developer, had to keep in mind not just its size and the load it could bear, but also make sure the structure can be relocated and reconfigured to meet the requirements of different events.[3]

As a result, the platform is made of smaller platforms of pontoons, each comprising hundreds of parts. 200 pontoons were envisioned, but a unique system of connectors allowed this number to be reduced to 15, which interlock like a jigsaw puzzle. These took one month to assemble. The connectors were designed to be light but robust.[3]

Six pylons fixed into the seabed act as the structure's foundation. Heavy-duty rubber rollers were used to gently guide the stage vertically to keep it from being rocked by tides and currents. Three linkways, which connect the floating platform to the land, have special integrated joints to keep them steady.[3]

The floating platform also had to be aesthetically pleasing to fit the scenic backdrop of the belt of hotels in Marina Centre. This limited the height of the seating gallery. The existing structures and the area's development plans capped the number of seats at 30,000.[3]

The platform has been equipped with numerous innovative features, like an internal drainage system, cabling structures and lightning rods.[3]

Events

The first major event that was held at the floating stadium is the National Day Parade in 2007.[7] This was followed by the Singapore Fireworks Celebrations held on 17 and 18 August 2007.[8]

On 25 August 2007, the stadium was used to launch the six-week-long Waterfest Singapore 2007, which showcases stunts and performances by a water ski team and wakeboard professionals.[9] On 2 September 2007, the platform was the start and finish point for the Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore triathlon.[1][10]

From 15 September 2007 to 16 April 2008, the floating stadium was closed for Formula One works in preparation for the Singapore Grand Prix in September 2008. The National Day Parade continues to be held at the floating platform from 2007 to 2017, excluding 2010 and 2016 where it was held at Sports Hub and Padang respectively.[11][12]

The Urban Redevelopment Authority had explored the area of making the 30,000-seat gallery available for the public to view fireworks during the New Year's Eve countdown at Marina Bay in December 2007, and following that it also used this stadium in each of the countdown parties till 2015 and shifted to Suntec City.

In November 2008, The Singapore Cup final between SAFFC and Woodlands Wellington FC was supposed to take place at the stadium. However, problem relating to the metal beams casting a shadow on the pitch forced the match to be played at the Jalan Besar Stadium instead. The first football match to be played on the platform was a Sunday League ESPZEN amateur match between Tuan Gemuk Athletic and VNNTU FC.[13]

In August 2010, the stadium was the main stadium for the 2010 Summer Youth Olympic Games. On 2 October 2010, the stadium became the venue for the graduation parade of the recruits from the Singapore Armed Forces Basic Military Training Centre. Previously, the pass out parade was held on Pulau Tekong itself.

On 23 November 2012, S.M. Entertainment artists including Kangta, BoA, TVXQ, Super Junior, Girls' Generation, Shinee, f(x), and EXO performed to a crowd of 18,000 fans as part of their SMTown Live World Tour III concert.[14]

The Float@Marina Bay's grandstand

Future Plans for the Stadium

The Marina Bay floating platform will be redeveloped into a permanent space that commemorates National Service (NS).

It will be renamed NS Square,[15] and will serve as the primary venue for the National Day Parade.

“We will extend the platform to open up a larger and more accessible space, and increase the current seating capacity so that more Singaporeans can join in the parade,” said Mr Lee at a dinner reception held at the floating platform to mark 50 years of National Service.

The Prime Minister added that below the grandstand, there will be a “purpose-built” gallery to showcase Singapore’s NS journey and highlight the contributions of generations of National Servicemen.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Tay Suan Chiang (19 August 2007). "Staying afloat". The Sunday Times. p. L7.
  2. ↑ Liaw Wy-Cin (21 June 2007). "All parade tickets given out". The Straits Times. p. H3.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Brenda Goh (2007). "New stage for the bay". Voices@Central Singapore (36, September/October 2007): 24–25. ISSN 0219-6344.
  4. ↑ "Singapore bests Moscow, will host 2010 Youth Olympics". ESPN. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2008.
  5. 1 2 3 Melissa Sim (12 August 2007). "He took NDP from land to water". The Sunday Times. p. 8.
  6. ↑ "Many firsts this time". The Straits Times. 12 July 2007. p. H6.
  7. ↑ Liaw Wy-Cin (24 May 2007). "National Day will bring all things S'porean". The Straits Times. p. H5.
  8. ↑ "Fireworks festival at Marina Bay floating platform from August 17–18". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2007.
  9. ↑ "A splashing start to WaterFest". The Sunday Times. 26 August 2007. p. 34.
  10. ↑ "WaterFest targets 33,000 this year". The Straits Times. 19 July 2007. p. H16.
  11. ↑ "NDP 2017 to be held at Marina Bay Floating Platform: Ng Eng Hen". Channel News Asia. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  12. ↑ "NDP 2015 to be held at Padang and Marina Bay floating platform". TODAY Online. Archived from the original on 8 March 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  13. ↑ "ESPZEN fixture information for first floating football match". ESPZEN. Archived from the original on 13 March 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
  14. ↑ "Biggest K-Pop music event to be held in November". Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
  15. ↑ "Marina Bay floating platform to be redeveloped to serve as primary venue for National Day Parade". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 8 November 2017. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
None Summer Youth Olympics
Opening and Closing Ceremonies
2010		 Succeeded by
Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre
Nanjing
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.