Home / Events

Singapore River Buskers' Festival

The first Singapore River Buskers' Festival was held along the Singapore River from 15 to 23 November 1997. The event was organised by The A Team Promotions, with the support of the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board (STPB). It featured 17 overseas busking acts that included juggling, mime and comedy. International busking acts from Argentina, Canada, Japan, the United States and Yugoslavia participated in the first festival. It marked the lifting of a three-year ban to busking although interestingly, the buskers brought in for the festival were already paid by the organisers.

History
Busking, or performing on the streets, was allowed in Singapore in the early 1990s but was discontinued in 1994 by the authorities following abuses, such as performing at non-designated places. However, the National Arts Council (NAC) and the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board renewed the proposal to have busking in Singapore in order to add more life to the entertainment scene.

Thus a scheme for busking was developed by NAC. However, to prevent busking from deteriorating to begging, strict rules still applied particularly. To qualify for performance licenses, buskers had to comply to certain conditions. For instance, they had to donate a part of their takings to charity or art societies. They also had to undergo auditions to ensure the quality of their performance.

Hence, in 1997, in view of this relaxation to rules on busking in Singapore, the first buskers' festival was organised, backed by the STPB. The event was held in conjunction with Celebration Singapore, a three month end-of-year festivities programme organised by the STPB.

The first buskers' festival held at Clarke Quay and Riverside Point, highlighted professional acts such as Big Business, two comedians on stilts from Britain; Tesseract, a team of acrobats from Canada; Nathalie Simard, a Canadian artist who paints faces; and Junkyard Symphony, a two-man act from Ontario which plays musical instruments made from recycled items.

Costing S$250,000 to put together, the first festival was the start of an annual event that sees some of the best busking acts around the world congregating in Singapore to showcase their busking talent. More than 250, 000 spectators participated in the fun of the first buskers' festival, with riverside entertainment and food outlets benefiting directly from the event.

Description
From 1998 to 2003, the Singapore River Buskers' Festival became an annual end-of-year event that grew in the number and variety of busking acts, and attracted more and more spectators. Each year, proceeds from the event are given to charity, such as the KK Outreach to Kids Fund and Autism Resource Centre.

In 1998, the second festival, which was bigger and had more variety, ran from 14 to 22 November. At least 22 busking acts participated. New acts included entertainers that came from Brazil, with only one "repeat" performer - Canadian face-painting artist Nathalie Simard. In 1999, the festival was held from 20 to 28 November, with 24 buskers participating. Some of the new acts that year included: Hoop To It: Annie Dugan, a.k.a The Stealth Sterling or the Hoola Hoop Girl and Whiplash: Brian Wilson and Jon Lockhart of The Cow Guys performing their daredevil stunts. More than 300,000 people turned up for the festival, making it Asia's second-largest street-entertainment carnival after Japan.

Singapore's fourth buskers' festival in 2000 took place from 18 to 26 November. Boasting more than 800 acrobatic, comedy and musical acts from its 30 buskers, the entertainment line-up included the Ballet Hooligans from Britain, funnyman Andy Zap from Australia and Canada's gymnastic duo, Acromaniacs. The fourth festival, organised by festival producer Gwyndara International was modelled after the Edinburgh Fringe, a month long festival with more than 5,000 shows.

By 2001, the buskers' festival had gained the reputation of being the second-largest buskers' festival in Asia. At least 25 buskers participated in the event held from 17 to 25 November. That year, funds collected benefited the Autism Resource Centre, a non-profit organisation that helps families with autistic children. In addition, the buskers also performed in places such as Bishan, Bras Basah, Kallang Bahru, Toa Payoh and Chinatown.

In 2002, 30 buskers performed daily from 16 to 24 November, along the Singapore River at One Fullerton, Merlion Park, Clarke Quay, Robertson Walk, UE Square, Marina Square and the Esplanade. About 100 local and international performers entertained crowds of up to 400,000 people over the nine days of the festival, which began with a Buskers Parade at Clarke Quay on 16 November. That year, the buskers' festival was awarded a silver in the Grand Pinnacle Award category by the International Festival and Events Association (IFEA), a grouping of festival and event organisers from around the world.

The seventh buskers' festival was held from 15 to 23 November in 2003. The S$1 million event saw 25 international acts from 10 countries performing more than 500 shows at venues like Orchard Road, Robertson Walk, Clarke Quay, Zouk, Marina Square, Boat Quay and Changi Airport. This time, the festival was launched with a procession by the street performers down Orchard Road. Called the Buskers' Grand Parade, it started from Orchard MRT station, kicking off a week-long festival of outrageous comedy, mime, antics, acrobatics, street theatre and song and dance acts. The festival managed to attract more than 600,000 spectators.



Author
Nureza Ahmad



References 
Boo, K. (2000, November 17). Have fun with buskers down by the River. The Straits Times, Home, p. 7.

Buskers festival coming your way. (2001, November 17). The Straits Times, Home, p. 2.

Cheah, U.H. (2000, December 1). Revitalising the River. The Business Times, Executive lifestyles, p. 1, EL2.

Dhaliwal, R. (1997, September 14). Busking to make comeback; performers will be licensed. The Straits Times, Home, p. 28.

Dhaliwal, R. (1997, October 5). Busker festival along riverside next month. The Straits Times, Sunday Review, p. 2. 

Foo, L. (1997, November 15). Busking by the river. The Straits Times, News focus, p. 3.

Foo, L. (1997, November 16). Care for a spin on a busking act? The Straits Times, Home, p. 34. 

Ho, K. (1999, November 22). Busk in their glory. The Straits Times, Life, p. 9.

Tay, K.C. (1998, November 14). Buskers down by the riverside. The Straits Times, Home, p. 71.


Further Readings
Lee, B. (2002, November 20). Singapore bags 20 awards in events contest. The Straits Times.

Wong, K. (2003, November 14). If busking is right up your street. The Straits Times.

Wee, T. (2003, November 21). Busking in the limelight. The Straits Times. 

Life! Whats on. (2003, November 15). The Straits Times.

Dont break your piggy bank this holiday. (2002, November 11). The Straits Times.

Gwyndara International. (n.d.). 7th Singapore Buskers' Festival. (2003). Retrieved on 12 April, 2004, from 
www.singapore-buskers.com/ 

The information in this article is valid as at 2004 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Events
Arts>>Performing Arts
Arts--Singapore
Festivals--Singapore
Special events--Singapore
Law and government>>Culture and community>>Arts
Law and government>>Trade (Commerce)>>Tourism
Law and government>>Culture and community>>Arts



All Rights Reserved. National Library Board Singapore 2004.