The business of the Night Race

SINGAPORE — It is less than a week before the start of the sixth instalment of the SingTel Singapore Grand Prix and the final 800,000 tons of cargo containing cars and state-of-the-art equipment for the 11 Formula 1 teams will arrive in the next few of days.

Up to 40,000 foreign visitors are expected to descend on the Lion City, paying top dollar to watch 22 cutting-edge Formula 1 cars do battle around the 5.073km Marina Bay Street Circuit from Friday to Sunday.

Many of these guests have already arrived, chiefly industry captains of some of the world’s biggest companies.

Corporate events on the fringes of the grand prix have become a feature of the race week since F1’s inaugural night race was first staged in 2008.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said at least 13 events have been scheduled before and after the grand prix. Among them are the 3rd Deutsche Bank Women in Asian Business Conference, the inaugural World Engineers Summit, Water Utilities Leader Summit and the inaugural Sports Matters next week, which targets the entire sports industry value chain in Asia.

Jeannie Lim, STB Executive Director of Exhibitions & Conferences and Conventions & Meetings, said some events were rescheduled around the F1 event.

“Some organisers also shift their events to coincide with Grand Prix Season Singapore (which started yesterday) to provide delegates the option of experiencing the unique buzz in the city during their business trip,” she said.

“The SALT Asia Conference 2013, for example, previously held in October, has been brought forward to Sept 25 to 27 this year.”

In the last few years UBS AG also held their group executive board meetings around the night race. The Swiss financial services giants — which operate in more than 50 countries around the world and base one of their four hubs in Singapore — are one of F1’s global partners.

They use the Paddock Club hospitality suites at selected F1 races, including the Singapore Grand Prix, to engage key clients, partners and staff, having concluded their board meetings three days ago.

Said UBS Asia Pacific Chief Executive Yoon Chi-Won: “In 2013, UBS will continue promoting our sponsorship through various activities on and off the track at the Marina Bay Street Circuit. This includes high-impact, exclusive events that allow us to entertain and engage our clients, employees and the community.”

Yoon noted that with the pull of 527 million viewers from 180 countries, the benefits of F1 to UBS were obvious, adding that the night race is a “centrepiece of UBS’ international sponsorship portfolio, not just for Singapore but globally”. SaidYoon: “The grand prix had quickly established itself as Singapore’s highest profile annual sporting event. It’s also become one of the most popular venues of the entire F1 season, for fans and teams alike.”

Apart from the race, the entertainment buffet of international artists staged by organisers around the circuit are also a top draw for international companies to host events here during the GPSS, said STB’s Lim.

“These events not only attract greater attendance, but also reap benefits from the strong networking opportunities. Furthermore, corporates would be able to provide their clients and key stakeholders with exclusive experiences that are unique to Singapore.”

Date Event

15-17 Sep Spikes Asia

16-18 Sep Economy Hotels World Asia

17 Sep Deutsche Bank Woman in Asia Conference

17-19 Sep LTE Asia

18-19 Sep Sports Matters (Inaugural)

18-19 Sep Water Utilities Leader Summit

18-19 Sep Platts Oil Conference

20-22nd Sep The Singapore Summit

20-24 Sep Asian Composers League 2013

23-26 Sep Russia–Singapore Business Forum 2013

24-25 Sep 2nd Pan-Asian Regulatory Summit

24-25 Sep Reverse Logistic Association Conference

25-27 Sep SALT Asia Conference