Celebrating Kallang Alive Sport Management’s First Anniversary

Opening Remarks by Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth & Second Minister for Law At Kallang Alive Sport Management’s First Anniversary on 6 December 2023 at Singapore Sports Hub

1. Thank you for joining us this evening at the first anniversary celebrations of Kallang Alive Sport Management. 
   • It is hard to believe that one year ago, we took back the Sports Hub and one year has gone by just like that. 
2. However, I wanted to take a couple of moments to reflect on the year that has gone by. 
   • Beside world class marquee events that we have had, we have also been very privileged to have many Singaporeans back here, celebrating at the Sports Hub with fellow Singaporeans. 
   • We have had many community events. For the first time, we celebrated Deepavali here. We have also had Hari Raya, Racial Harmony Day, as well as the National Day celebrations held here. We have never had this before and we have been able to do this with your support.
   • We have also been able to have our school children back here. We had a fantastic National School Games – the most number of National School Games held at the Sports Hub ever and we are looking forward to next year where we will do even more. 
3. I thus wanted to spend a few moments to thank the people who really made this happen. 
   • I want to start with the many partners of the Sports Hub – whether it is on the pitch, off the pitch, in the F&B sector, or our partners who support us in our everyday work at the Sports Hub. 
   • Thank you very much for being our partners, for being a big part of Kallang Alive, and for being a big part of making Kallang Alive for Singapore and Singaporeans. 
   • Second, I want to thank the Kallang Alive team. The team took over with almost a moment’s notice one year ago. Chairman Keith Magnus and CEO Swee Kuan – these two gentlemen together with their team at Kallang Alive have been instrumental, they have worked very hard, working innovatively and out of the box to make Kallang Alive truly come alive. 
   • Finally, I wanted to thank the many Singaporeans who have made Kallang Alive truly alive by coming here to celebrate with friends, family, and the community. 
   • All of you were the reason why we took back the Sports Hub to make the Sports Hub a lot more accessible to Singapore and Singaporeans, and I am very glad that we have been able to do this for the past year. 
4. Looking forward and most importantly beyond the marquee and community events, what’s important about the Sports Hub is that we come here to make memories together. 
   • We come here to witness iconic and sporting moments, and spectacular events. But the most important thing for me is that we come together as fellow Singaporeans to make special memories at the Sports Hub, and we are very privileged to be able to do that.
5. In the year ahead, we have a lot more plans. Beyond growing our marquee events, school sports and community events, we also have big plans for the area at Kallang. 
   • We hope to make Kallang the Home of Team Singapore and the home ground for everything that is Team Singapore.
   • Every team that comes to play against Singapore at the Sports Hub, we want them to know that this is our home ground, and we will make that special. 
   • We have the Kallang Alive Masterplan where we will develop lifestyle, sport, and entertainment facilities, and we will rejuvenate this place. 
   • We will redevelop the Kallang Theatre space into something that is spectacular and that will befit Kallang Alive. 
   • Beyond that, we want Kallang Alive to be a home and a place where even if you don’t have a particular event, Singaporeans will still come to socialise, take part, enjoy, and be part of the whole life and spirit of Kallang Alive. 
6. On that note, I want to thank you all again for being here and for celebrating the occasion with us. But more importantly, thank you for making this one-year journey with us and for making Kallang Alive something that’s special for Singapore and Singaporeans. 
7. Thank you very much.