This year’s edition of the Singapore night race is scheduled to take place from Sep 20 to Sep 22.
MTI said since the event’s debut in 2008, the F1 Singapore Grand Prix has brought “substantial benefits” to Singapore, attracting more than 550,000 international visitors and generating around S$2 billion of incremental tourism receipts.
It has also raised Singapore’s reputation as a “vibrant global-asia node”.
“Between 2008 and 2022, the race captured a global audience of over 1 billion viewers,” MTI noted.
“Many international business events, such as the TIME100 Leadership Forum, the Forbes Global CEO Conference, the Milken Institute Asia Summit and SuperReturn Asia, have also been organised around the F1 race in Singapore to take advantage of the occasion for high-level networking and meetings.”
Beyond the tourism sector, the ministry said the race has also benefited many Singapore companies that are involved in different aspects of the event, such as logistics, transport, construction and engineering services.
“Additionally, more than 1,000 students from the Institute of Technical Education and our polytechnics are trained for various roles around the F1 circuit park every year, providing them with a unique opportunity to participate in a world-class international event,” said MTI.
Iswaran, who resigned from his positions in government on Tuesday, is accused of corruptly receiving more than S$166,000 (US$123,570) worth of flights, hotel stays and tickets to events in exchange for advancing Mr Ong’s business interests.
The 61-year-old is separately accused of obtaining about S$218,000 worth of valuable items in his capacity as a minister who also dealt with Mr Ong and his company in his role as chairman of the F1 Steering Committee.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers said on Thursday that it will make a decision about the anti-corruption agency’s investigation into Mr Ong after the case against Iswaran is completed.