Ensuring public safety at the Sports Hub

Question

Mr Ang Hin Kee: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth what are the safety and evacuation plans in place at the new Sports Hub to deal with a fire or an emergency so as to avoid the outcomes that took place as a result of the Bradford City Stadium fire and Hillsborough Stadium stampede disasters in the 1980s.

Response

Minister Lawrence Wong: Our new Sports Hub and National Stadium are designed and operated based on both the local fire safety codes and the UK Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds. The latter is also known as the Green Guide, and it specifies international best practices in both the design and operations of stadia from a safety perspective. Where there are differences between the two codes, the more stringent safety guidelines have been adopted.

Sports Hub Pte Ltd (SHPL) used validated safety and evacuation modelling software to develop its safety and emergency plans and fine-tuned them with inputs from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and the Singapore Police Force.

In addition, SHPL's operational teams have experience working at major stadiums and events around the world, including Wembley, Stade De France, University of Phoenix Stadium in the USA and London Olympic Games, and are trained to manage emergencies that may arise.

Public safety is of utmost importance to us. We will continue to work with SHPL and the relevant authorities to ensure that safety and evacuation plans at the Sports Hub are regularly reviewed and exercised  in order to ensure public safety.