SINGAPORE — Five years after the first successful run of Doodle 4 Google in 2010, Google Singapore announced yesterday that a second competition will be held this year in conjunction with SG50.

“Google is celebrating Singapore. It’s an exciting time to be here and SG50 is the best reason to bring back the competition after five years,” said Google Singapore country director Joanna Flint at the press conference held at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts campus.

This year’s Doodle 4 Google theme is Singapore: The Next 50 Years, and it is especially apt, given the dramatic transformation of the country in the last five decades, said Flint. “We hope students can think of Singapore’s future, the ways they can contribute to the journey to represent the future of Singapore and where we want to go,” she added. “We’re looking for imagination and creativity.”

Google Doodle, an adaptation of the Google logo in the form of illustrations, animation, games and even quizzes (as seen on this year’s Earth Day Google Doodle) is a popular feature of the Google search landing page since 1998. Google Doodles are usually created by the Google Doodle team, based in the company headquarters in Mountain View, California.

This year’s Doodle 4 Google competition is open to students aged four to 18 and who are enrolled in a Singapore school. There are five categories students can compete in and the overall winner will get his or her Doodle featured on the Google Singapore homepage for 24 hours on National Day as well as the opportunity to fly to Google’s headquarters with one parent and teacher to meet the Google Doodle team.

The last Doodle 4 Google competition received more than 30,000 entries and was won by 15-year-old James Rotanson from Anglo-Chinese School (International).

The competition opens today and entries must be submitted by June 8. Members of the public will also get a chance to vote for their favourite submission from June 23 to July 3, and the winner will be announced on July 8. 

For more details, visit the Doodle 4 Google page (http://www.google.com.sg/doodle4google)