I started a little experiment: I’ve launched a Telegram broadcast channel to send out updates from the newsletters that I run. From now on (as long as I remember), Kixes’s Delivery Service on Telegram will send out links to all the newsletters I’ve involved in, from We, The Citizens and Altering States to the Mekong Review Weekly and even our fun Passion Procrastination newsletter. If this sounds of interest to you, check it out here.
(1)
Taylor Swift has jetted off to take a break from her Eras Tour, and I suppose most Swiftie tourists have headed home too. (At Changi Airport on Monday, it certainly felt as if every third person was toting some sort of Taylor Swift merch, if not still wearing their many friendship bracelets.) Generally speaking, Singapore must have profited handsomely from the six-night extravaganza, but the benefits aren’t evenly felt. It was a good time for hotels, but some smaller local businesses haven’t enjoyed the same boost. Some eateries at Kallang Wave Mall, right next to the National Stadium, actually saw a sharp drop in business—as they point out, Swift’s younger fans might not have had the money to eat at a place like a seafood restaurant, while regular customers would have chosen to stay away in anticipation of intense crowds in the area on those nights. (Meanwhile, the cheaper stalls in the mall saw a boost in sales, so it really depends on concertgoer demographics.) We also shouldn’t forget that, while many people did fly into Singapore for the concert, Singapore is an eye-wateringly expensive city for the average Southeast Asian, for whom buying a concert ticket in SGD (and then flights and accommodation) was already the big splurge. So money was made, but who made it and how it will be redistributed (if it will be redistributed at all) is the bigger question.
(2)
Singapore is delivering more humanitarian aid to Gaza, but continues to clamp maintain tight control over local voices expressing solidarity with Palestinians and calling on Singaporean institutions to do more. The police have opened an investigation after a report was made about posters put up in toilets at Nanyang Technological University detailing how NTU is allegedly involved (even if indirectly) in enabling Israel’s violence against Gaza. For example, the poster points to NTU’s collaboration with Thales, a French multinational company that also has a relationship with Israeli defence contractors that have produced weapons used in Gaza.
Because toilet posters that haven’t harmed anyone are apparently worth using police resources on. 🙄
(3)
What should we do with the Singapore Indoor Stadium? I was just there last weekend for the SHINee concert. Earlier last year, I lived my best life at the Stray Kids concert and years before that I’d gone to see Muse with my mother and brother, as well as Disney on Ice shows as a kid. The Indoor Stadium is a site of many memories for many Singaporeans, from the architecture outside to the fun we’ve had inside.
The government is now planning to build another arena next to it, throwing the Indoor Stadium’s fate into doubt. When announcing this plan, Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, said that the current Indoor Stadium’s infrastructure isn’t able to handle the amount of power needed for many sporting events and concerts, so they want to build something that would be able to offer the best in the world and continue boosting Singapore’s attractiveness as a venue for big shows. The government is still considering other uses for the Indoor Stadium.
Would it be possible to retrofit the Indoor Stadium so it can meet the standards that top-tier events demand these days? It’s not quite clear, but experts say it would be a great pity to demolish it, so the Indoor Stadium should be preserved somehow.
From the WTC community
On the radar
Have you registered for the launch of We Are Not the Enemy: The Practice of Advocacy in Singapore yet? (I won’t be able to make it, unfortunately!) You can also order a copy of the book here:
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