Speech by Minister Desmond Lee at The Singapore Garden Festival Awards Night
Aug 2, 2024
Good evening. Thank you for joining us here at the 9th Singapore Garden Festival (SGF) Awards Ceremony. We are honoured by Mr President’s presence with us this evening.
Fostering Horticulture and Landscape Design Excellence in Singapore
We started the biennial Singapore Garden Festival in 2006, to encourage gardening and horticulture in Singapore.
Over the years, our Garden Festival has evolved into one of the top international tropical garden and flower shows, drawing enthusiasts and visitors from around the world.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we scaled down the 2022 edition with fewer displays. I am sure many of you are as excited as I am to see the Festival return to full scale this year.
Singapore Garden Festival 2024
Over the next nine days, visitors can look forward to exquisite garden and floral displays by acclaimed Singaporean and overseas designers.
This year, we have 44 garden and floral designers who have put together close to 40 stunning displays.
These include 12 Best of Show Designer Gardens, some of which use lighting and sound effects to create immersive experiences for visitors.
As we take in the beautiful gardens, we also get to enjoy the therapeutic benefits that greenery has to offer. Studies conducted by my NParks colleagues and research partners have shown that gardening activities and immersing ourselves in nature can help to enhance mental wellbeing.
Visitors can also look forward to a series of competitions at the Festival, such as the ‘Balcony Gardens Competition’ and ‘Floral Table-Top Competition’.
Notably, this year’s ‘Floral Windows to the World Championship’ features a live competition format for the first time, where visitors can observe the floral displays being set up in real time.
Floral designers from 16 countries will be competing for the Grand Champion title, through a series of challenging tasks.
Visitors will be able to witness the designers work their magic, and learn from designers as they showcase their unique styles and techniques.
We are glad to have strong international participation at the Festival.
This year, we are pleased to have over 40 garden and floral designers from 18 countries participating in the Festival, including Estonia, Hungary and Poland, which are participating for the first time.
I welcome all international designers to Singapore, and wish everyone a fruitful competition. We look forward to learning from other countries as well.
I am also encouraged to see our homegrown talent taking part in the competitions, and raising the bar of our landscape industry in Singapore.
These competitions are invaluable opportunities to connect and exchange notes with peers from around the world.
For example, in the Best of Show Designer Gardens Competition, our local landscape industry partners have shared insights on tropical plants with international designers, so, together, they are able to design beautiful gardens that will thrive locally.
In fact, more than half of the industry partners have participated in the Festival. I am also happy to welcome new entrants who bring in fresh ideas to the competition.
I would like to commend all participants for the tremendous effort you have put into your displays.
We look forward to celebrating your efforts and achievements at the awards presentation segment later, and we are honoured to have President Tharman to present the awards.
Gardening as a Community Connector
Besides being a celebration of floral artistry and horticultural excellence, the Festival is also about our community.
Interest in gardening has grown over the years. NParks’ Community in Bloom programme has supported the setting up of community gardens islandwide.
I am particularly encouraged by the strong participation in the ‘Singapore Gardeners’ Cup’. Into its 7th edition, it is a friendly challenge for local community gardening groups.
Through the various design challenges and displays at the Festival, our community gardeners, students and industry partners can showcase their gardening talent.
I wish these gardeners all the best for the results tomorrow.
Conclusion
This year’s Singapore Garden Festival coincides with Singapore hosting the 8th Global Botanic Gardens Congress, held for the first time in Southeast Asia.
The Global Botanic Gardens Congress brings together the botanic garden community worldwide, to share experiences, and to explore innovative approaches to common challenges.
There is a lot of synergy between the two events, as they offer our local landscape designers, horticulturists and researchers opportunities to exchange knowledge with botanical experts from around the world.
Before I conclude, I would like to thank the many people who have helped to make the Festival possible.
Thank you to our dedicated volunteers for your time and hard work,
To sponsors: your generous support has ensured the smooth running of the event, and to our donors: who have brought over 4,600 beneficiaries from various charities to the Festival,
To the designers and participants who have shared your talents with us through the amazing displays,
And finally, to my NParks colleagues, including Festival Director Dennis, Zhijian, and the rest of the organising team, for bringing this Festival to life.
I wish all of you a wonderful time at this year’s Singapore Garden Festival, and an enjoyable evening ahead.
Thank you.