F1 night race 2022: Singapore GP 'confident' turnout will match second-highest of 268,000 in 2019
SINGAPORE — The organiser of the Formula One (F1) night race is optimistic that the attendance here this year will be similar to the strong turnout in 2019 of at least 268,000 fans. That was the second-highest attendance in the event’s history and the one before the Covid-19 pandemic put a halt to the race here.

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc at the first practice session for the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix on the Marina Bay Street Circuit in September 2019. He took pole position for the race but was beaten by his teammate then Sebastian Vettel.
- The organiser of the Formula One night race in Singapore said it is confident that ticket sales will at least meet 2019’s numbers
- There were at least 268,000 spectators in 2019, the second-highest attendance in the motor-racing event’s history here
- That was also the year before the Covid-19 pandemic halted the annual event for two years in Singapore
- Separately, the Singapore Tourism Board said that recovery for the business events and conferences industry is strong
SINGAPORE — The organiser of the Formula One (F1) night race is optimistic that the attendance here this year will be similar to the strong turnout in 2019 of at least 268,000 fans. That was the second-highest attendance in the event’s history and the one before the Covid-19 pandemic put a halt to the race here for two years.
The highest attendance of 300,000 spectators was during the debut race here in 2008.
Singapore GP told TODAY on Monday (July 25) that “based on the current ticket sales, we are confident that we will at least meet 2019’s numbers”.
It did not respond to queries on how many tickets have been sold so far for the three-day motor-racing event from Sept 30 to Oct 2, but TODAY last reported that the first wave of tickets that were released on April 13 at 10am were sold out in six hours.
A check on Singapore GP’s website on Wednesday similarly showed a limited availability of tickets across multiple categories.
For example, grandstand tickets were mostly sold out or were “selling fast”.
The only categories that are still available are for the first day, which is the practice rounds, at the Pit Grandstand located at the F1 Pit Building, or the first and second day (qualifying rounds) at the Bay Grandstand located next to The Float@Marina Bay.
Tickets for the “premier walkabout” that give spectators access to the race across all three days as well as tickets for the final day of the race were sold out.
Singapore is set to host the 18th stop of this season’s 23-race event, coming after the one in Italy and before the one in Japan.
Singapore GP and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) announced in January that they signed a new seven-year contract lasting from 2022 to 2028 to be one of the hosts on the yearly calendar.
This is the fourth contract renewal for Singapore. The last four-year contract signed in 2017 expired last year. It was, however, not possible to hold the race in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Aside from the race itself, the three-day event will also see the return of outdoor concerts, which were the highlights of previous editions of the Singapore Grand Prix.
This year's line-up will include 92 performances from Singapore and international acts that will take place across nine stages at the F1 Circuit Park in Marina Bay.
Among the artistes performing are American pop group Black Eyed Peas, British rock band Suede, and Singaporean rapper Shigga Shay and singer-songwriter Inch Chua.
When asked what their plans were in the event that infection numbers for Covid-19 surge closer to the race flag-off here, Singapore GP said that it will “continue to work closely with the relevant government agencies” to adjust the plans based on the prevailing public health safety regulations.
‘STRONG RECOVERY’ FOR MICE SECTOR
Aside from the upcoming F1 race, several other large-scale events have already taken place in Singapore, with more to come for the rest of the year. This was even before Covid-19 rules were largely relaxed in April.
STB told TODAY on Wednesday that the Singapore Airshow, which was held from Feb 15 to 18, saw some 13,000 physical attendees — the largest number of attendees for any event in Singapore since the start of the pandemic. The Singapore Airshow is held every two years for stakeholders and military delegations in the global aerospace and defence sector.
Following Singapore’s reopening to all fully vaccinated visitors, with no testing and quarantine requirements, the Asia Tech x Singapore took place between May 31 and June 3, with some 16,600 participants attending the event both virtually and physically.
STB said that this was the largest technology event here since the country’s borders reopened.
Earlier this month, the Standard Chartered Singapore Trophy drew the biggest crowd at a sports event here since the pandemic started in 2020, with more than 50,000 fans gathered at the National Stadium to watch in person the game between Liverpool Football Club and Crystal Palace Football Club from the English Premier League.
STB also said that the second-half of this year will be packed for business-oriented events in the meetings, incentive travel, conferences and exhibitions (Mice) sector.
Trade shows such as the Medical Fair Asia will return in August and so will the region’s largest food and hospitality event, Food and Hotel Asia, which will be held from September.
The Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon will also return in its full format this December for the first time since 2019, and is expected to attract up to 50,000 participants.
“Industry recovery is strong… with business travel to Singapore and Southeast Asia on the rebound, we are seeing strong interest to attend these (Mice) events,” STB said.
“The general liberalisation of cross-border travel restrictions will make it more convenient for the world to meet in Singapore with greater opportunities for networking.”