Work underway on temporary venue in Kallang for 2025 World Aquatics Championships

SPONSORSHIPS GO “A LONG WAY”

In a written reply to various questions from Members of Parliament on the estimated budget for Singapore to host the event, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong said in August that the aim is to “deliver a positive event experience for athletes and spectators, while being fiscally prudent and cost-effective”.

“To this end, we have undertaken detailed planning and implemented stringent budget measures, taking reference from the learnings of previous hosts of the championships as well as Singapore’s experience in hosting other large-scale sporting events,” he said.

He added that the government was at that point unable to disclose the budget due to “commercial sensitivities” and that the organising committee had started efforts to secure sponsorships and negotiate service contracts for the event.

“The costs to be borne by the government and sponsorships will only be finalised after the event has concluded,” said Mr Tong.

At an event on Friday, the Pan Pacific Hotels Group, Trans-Eurokars Mazda and OCBC were unveiled as the event’s hotel, automobile and banking partners respectively.

In a press release, the organising committee said that OCBC has committed a “significant cash sponsorship”.

Two hotels under the Pan Pacific Hotels Group brand will provide close to 9,000 room nights for more than 500 officials involved in the event, while Trans-Eurokars Mazda will supply more than 100 cars for participating athletes and officials.

Collectively, the sponsorships amount to about S$5 million (US$3.75 million).

“It goes a long way. It’s really great that local brands have come in to actually help us with respect to coming in with this kind of support,” said Mr Chay.

Organisers are still in negotiations with other sponsors, he added.

“Global events like this don’t come every single day. It’s a chance for them to actually use this platform to showcase their brands to a wider global audience,” he said.