Temporary facility, tourism receipts and sponsorships for the World Aquatics Championships 2025

*7262. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) what is the full cost of constructing and dismantling the temporary competition venue at Carpark G near the Kallang Tennis and Football Hubs for the 2025 World Aquatics Championships; and (b) what are the outcomes of any feasibility studies looking into extending the use of the competition venue after these Championships instead of dismantling it.

*7263. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) what is the estimated number of international visitors expected to attend the 2025 World Aquatics Championships; (b) what methodology was used to arrive at this estimate; and (c) what is the projected total tourism revenue to be generated from these visitors.

*7265. Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: To ask the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth (a) whether the Government will act as a financial backstop if sponsorships for hosting the 2025 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore fall short of the intended amount; (b) whether the Government has set a sponsorship target for the organisers; and (c) how are the organisers held accountable for securing sponsorships to minimise public expenditure.

1. Mr Speaker, with your permission, may I answer question number 2 and 3 in today's order paper and oral PQ7265 that is scheduled for another parliament sitting, please?

2. The World Aquatics Championships (WCH) is the highest tier of world championships in aquatics. WCH 2025 will be the first time that an edition of the WCH is being held in Southeast Asia. Global sports events such as WCH help Singapore to gain sporting prominence and mindshare internationally. As of January this year, our social media content on WCH 2025 has made more than 5.8 million impressions, across various platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, Weibo and XiaoHongShu. WCH strengthens Singapore's reputation as a top-tier destination for international sporting events and reinforces our capabilities in hosting such large-scale events. Beyond sports, the event will also have a related impact on tourism, hospitality and other industries, further raising Singapore's profile as a travel destination.

3. The WCH 2025 will inspire local athletes and further encourage our population at large to participate in sports. Our Team Singapore athletes can gain valuable experience from competing against the best athletes in the world, and this in turn will bolster their chances of doing well at future tournaments. Such opportunities to compete with the world's best are significantly enhanced when world class competitions are held in Singapore.

4. The WCH is not just for athletes but also for Singaporeans at large. The event will rally Singaporeans together to cheer for TeamSG in SG60, and we are confident that it will spark greater interest amongst Singaporeans for aquatic sports and inspire our next generation of sporting talents. Singaporeans can look forward to a variety of related community activities organised at the sidelines of the main event. We expect up to 350,000 Singaporeans will have the opportunity to participate in these activities. Some of these community events will be commencing soon, in the lead-up to the main event, such as the SG60 Swim Challenge that we will launch in April.

5. We expect to welcome about 40,000 international visitors to Singapore for the World Aquatics and World Aquatics Masters Championships 2025. This is a conservative estimate and comprises spectators and other visitors such as athletes, officials, production crew and media. Based on this, the estimated incremental tourism receipts generated by these international visitors is estimated to be some $60 million. The final tourism receipts generated will only be clearer after the event.

6. For us to be able to host any large-scale sport competitions of the highest tier, we would have to put in place additional supporting infrastructure, as was also the case for previous host cities of the WCH. For instance, the recent editions of WCH in Fukuoka and Doha required the construction of temporary pools to facilitate the hosting of the events at WCH, and coordination across the different aquatic events for officials, athletes and fans. For WCH 2025, with the OCBC Aquatic Centre hosting water polo and diving competitions, a temporary facility will be needed to host the swimming and artistic swimming competitions. This is being constructed at Kallang.

7. Besides using the facility for the WCH, it will also be used for the World Aquatics Masters Championships that would be held from 26 July to 22 August this year. We are also studying the possible extension of the temporary facility to be used as a training and competition venue for other local and regional meets, as well as for athlete training and for public use, beyond the hosting of the WCH. If possible, this would further amortise the cost of staging the WCH. More details will be shared later as these require further feasibility studies.

8. The construction cost of the temporary facility is still being finalised, but it is expected to be comparable to that of other host cities which built temporary facilities to host the WCH.

9. As host country, we aim to deliver a positive event experience for athletes and spectators, while being fiscally prudent and cost-effective. The organising committee has been careful to reduce costs where possible, while working hard to secure sponsorships for the events. These sponsorships will help us defray some costs associated with operations and logistics of the event. We have a sponsorship target and are making good progress towards it. We are still in active discussions with various sponsors and will reveal them progressively. At this point of time, we are unable to disclose details of the sponsorships due to commercial sensitivity.

10. The success of this event will depend on Singaporeans' support. So let us cherish this opportunity to show the world what we can do as a nation united and deliver a Championships that we will be proud of.