The Big Read in short: Clarke Quay’s identity crisis

Each week, TODAY’s long-running Big Read series delves into trends and issues that matter. This week, we look at Clarke Quay’s decades-long search for an identity, as the historical site — which has established itself as a nightlife hotspot — seeks to widen its appeal beyond late night revellers. This is a shortened version of the full feature, which can be found here.

SINGAPORE — When dusk falls, the place comes alive — turning into a vibrant nightspot lined with pubs and clubs, as revellers spill over onto the streets and music blares in the background.

But in the day, the place becomes much quieter — and more wholesome, playing host to cartoon character mascots like SpongeBob and Dora, as well as families with eager children in tow looking for a good time at the carnival games and Nickelodeon-themed festivals. 

Welcome to the two worlds of Clarke Quay, different as night and day, amid efforts to widen the appeal of the area which has one of the highest concentrations of clubs and bars in the city-state.

In recent times, CapitaLand, which manages the site, has been bringing in a raft of wholesome and family-friendly activities. For example, the Singapore Festival of Fun, held during the March school holidays and meant to provide entertainment for the whole family, was first brought in three years ago. There is also a day-time carnival on the first Sunday of every month.

While the efforts seek to address Clark Quay’s daytime “ghost town” problem — and widen the historical site’s appeal beyond late night revellers — they have led some experts and tenants interviewed by TODAY to question the area’s schizophrenic identity.

THE CHANGING FACES OF CLARKE QUAY

Clarke Quay was named after Sir Andrew Clarke, Governor of the Straits Settlements from 1824 to 1902. As one of the quays along the Singapore River, Clarke Quay’s history is inseparable from the early traders and coolies who plied the river in the 1800s, moving and transporting goods from boats to warehouses, some of which still stand today.

Due to its historical significance, Clarke Quay was gazetted as a heritage conservation district by the Urban Redevelopment Authority in 1989 and the area was opened for private development, according to the National Library Board’s web encyclopedia Infopedia

DBS Land, which was one-half of the predecessor of CapitaLand, won the tender with a bid of S$54 million and Clarke Quay was reopened in 1993 with a family-friendly focus — boasting more than 170 retail shops, 17 food and beverage outlets and a S$25-million adventure ride that included heritage elements from the country’s past.

Unfortunately, the Clarke Quay project was not a commercial success, with an accumulated loss of S$4.42 million just a year after the re-opening, according to NLB’s Infopedia page.

The adventure ride closed in the mid-1990s. The number of visitors fell due to reasons such as the area's relative inaccessibility, the lack of shelter and the absence of a coherent identity with its eclectic mix of tenants.

In 2003, Clarke Quay underwent another S$80-million makeover after CapitaLand — which became the site’s manager following the merger of DBS Land and Pidemco — commissioned a British architectural firm to refresh the area’s image and infrastructure.

To give visitors a pleasant experience regardless of the weather, the makeover involved the construction of pod-like dining platforms and the installation of silent fans and overhead canopies along Clarke Quay’s main walkways.

Moving away from the family-oriented positioning, new tenants including French cabaret Crazy Horse and nightclubs such as Attica and Ministry of Sound were brought in.

Clarke Quay’s image as a nightlife destination in Singapore was cemented following the completion of this exercise in 2006, which saw tenants moving into five blocks of restored 19th century shophouses and warehouses.

THE DAYTIME PROBLEM

While there is much life at night in Clarke Quay, it is a totally different story in the day, with tenants complaining of poor footfall, even on weekends.

Some tourists whom TODAY spoke to described daytime Clarke Quay as “empty”, “quiet”, and even “creepy”.

Lamenting that business this year has been “challenging”, the outlet manager of TCC, who only wanted to be known as Mr Ogie, said that it “seldom” gets customers in the day.

The lack of crowds in the daytime also means that some tenants do not see much point in doing business in the day.

While CapitaLand’s strategy to bring in more family-friendly activities would help to improve business in the day, some experts felt that this could backfire and dilute Clarke Quay’s well-established nightlife branding.

Mr Kevin Wee, senior tourism lecturer at Nanyang Polytechnic, said the family segment should be Clarke Quay’s secondary target customers. While it should continue to bring in family-friendly events on an ad hoc basis, these should not be permanent features, he noted.

He said: “Clarke Quay has to make a clear decision as to whether it should stay primarily as a nightspot. If they do, then don’t change too much, it might mess up what’s working now.”

In any case, some experts pointed out that despite the best efforts, there are limits to Clarke Quay’s allure as a family-friendly destination.

Moreover, there are already plenty of family-friendly attractions in Singapore, such as the Singapore Zoo, Gardens By The Bay or the Botanic Gardens, said some experts, who questioned what Clarke Quay can offer to compete against these places.

Still, other experts pointed out that there are places in other countries which have successfully blended family-friendly and nightlife offerings. 

For example, the Sydney Harbour in Australia is lined with several drinking establishments but many families can be spotted walking along the harbour to enjoy the view of the Sydney Opera House, said Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s tourism lecturer Michael Chiam.

Some experts and industry players said it is about getting the right mix of tenants and programmes, as well as separating the different crowds to avoid a clash of images which Clarke Quay is trying to portray.

Mr Chiam believes that Clarke Quay can leverage its rich history in order to attract families with young children. “(In the daytime), parents can bring children there to explain Singapore’s history. At night, the partygoers come for a different purpose,” he said.

MAKING CLARKE QUAY GREAT AGAIN 

Even as Clarke Quay seeks to woo a different segment of visitors, some nightlife industry veterans believe that the area has lost its shine as Singapore’s top nightlife destination amid stiff competition from Marina Bay Sands (MBS) in particular.

While Clarke Quay still has “a lot of growth potential”, the journey back to the top will be quite “tough”,  said Mr Andrew Ing, chief operating officer of hospitality company Lo and Behold and former marketing manager of Zouk. 

With the recent opening of Marquee at MBS, operators at Clarke Quay need to raise their game with “good ideas, good entertainment and good training for staff” in the face of tough competition, he added.