\n<\/p>\n
In the Marina Bay circuit, some of the grandstands are built one and a half months before the race, which can lead to last-minute issues.<\/p>\n
For instance, even though a grandstand might be located in the same spot for several years, there could be rows missing or a change in actual layout after the grandstands are rebuilt, which Mr Lai\u2019s team has to address.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do our best to really make sure that all the seats are there, there’re no missing seats and the seats are properly labeled. We also check the condition of the seats as well,\u201d said Mr Lai, adding that they are exposed to the natural elements, such as wind and rain.<\/p>\n
For his team, one key challenge is working under strict time constraints when assembling and dismantling the grandstands and facilities within the circuit park.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes when there’re events going on for certain stakeholders, we have to work out the timing as to when is the earliest they can hand over the space to us,\u201d said Mr Raj.<\/p>\n
He cited the example of Connaught Grandstand, located at the end of Esplanade Bridge, sits along a \u201clive\u201d road which is still open to public vehicles.<\/p>\n
His team works around tight schedules to construct it. When they close off the road in the wee hours of Wednesday morning on race week, they only have a limited time to set up before they have to reopen the road for the morning traffic, said Mr Raj.<\/p>\n
The same goes for the post-race rush on Sunday night. The priority is to re-open certain parts of the race track for use as public roads, such as Esplanade Drive, by 5.30am on Monday, said Mr Raj.<\/p>\n
Ms Melissa Phua, Singapore GP\u2019s director of operations who has been with the firm since 2008, said her work involves schools as well.<\/p>\n
She spends a large part of her year engaging with students from the Institute of Technical Education and Republic Polytechnic, as Singapore GP provides training and employment opportunities for nearly 1,000 of them across the circuit park each year.<\/p>\n
They perform roles such as grandstand and gate officials, and take care of the general welfare of patrons at the event, said Ms Phua.<\/p>\n
Her team also has to assess and ensure public safety arrangements within the circuit park, including the movement and dispersal of the massive crowds.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think part of our KPI (key performance indicator) is also in making sure that they leave safely. We would hate to see complaints from patrons who were not happy after the event or we didn\u2019t meet their satisfaction,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The main issue every year is the crowd leaving the area after the nightly concerts at the Padang, with most making their way to the MRT stations to catch the late trains home, said Ms Phua.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we are on the ground, making sure that all the necessary gates are open and everyone leaves according to the planned routes for effective dispersal,\u201d she said, adding that some spectators may be unhappy as they may be diverted away from the path they took to enter the circuit park.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s about making sure that ushers are there and we are there on the ground, making sure that nobody gets yelled at or gets crushed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Sasha said that in the initial years, efforts were focused on marketing to Singaporeans what Formula 1 was, and also introducing the race to international audiences.<\/p>\n
Today, the challenge has changed. With the Marina Bay race established internationally, the focus is increasingly on attracting repeat visitors and convincing fans to choose Singapore in a crowded calendar of 24 races, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I first started, Formula 1 wasn’t something that was known to most Singaporeans. It was seen in the first few years by some as an elitist sport,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
To counter that, Singapore GP introduced a variety of product categories that would appeal to a wide demographic, including sports fans, corporate visitors who are networking, and locals attending more for the entertainment, she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were the first circuit in Formula 1 to actually inject entertainment into the racing experience that you get over the weekend,\u201d said Ms Sasha.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
ENGINEERING AROUND A CITY In the Marina Bay circuit, some of the grandstands are built one and a half months before the race, which can…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":85552,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dam.mediacorp.sg\/image\/upload\/s--6IqY0bB7--\/c_fill,g_auto,h_676,w_1200\/fl_relative,g_south_east,l_mediacorp:cna:watermark:2021-08:cna,w_0.1\/f_auto,q_auto\/v1\/mediacorp\/cna\/image\/2026\/09\/14\/img_5948.jpg?itok=-Jd22oCm","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[578,272,570,2214,1777,22,773,674],"class_list":["post-85551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-news-sg-global","tag-days","tag-meet","tag-race","tag-running","tag-scenes","tag-singapore","tag-team","tag-track","wpcat-2-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=85551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85551\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/85552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=85551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=85551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=85551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}