Youth Olympic Games 2010 in Singapore

Singapore will host the 1st Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2010. The result was unveiled by IOC President Jacques Rogge at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne. Singapore beat Moscow in the final vote, 53 to 44.

“Singapore has put together a very exciting project. Hosting the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) for the first time is a great responsibility, and I have every confidence in the team in Singapore. I have no doubt that their professionalism and enthusiasm will be instrumental in the staging of successful Youth Olympic Games in 2010,” said Rogge to journalists present in Lausanne.

More than seven months of hard work by Singapore's YOG bid committee, headed by Mr Ng Ser Miang, didn't go down the drain.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's Switzerland stopover to meet IOC President Rogge to show Singapore's seriousness in hosting the Games proved worthwhile.

Those who went to the Final Countdown Party at the Padang didn't go home with sad faces.

The Games village that will house the more than 3,200 athletes and 800 officials should be ready on time.

It's time to prove the world that Singapore is ready.

Ushering the Year of the Rat in Singapore

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

2008... another "Rat year". It's the first in the lunar calendar cycle and recurs every twelfth year. The Chinese New Year does not fall on a specific date, so it is essential to check the calendar to find the exact date on which each year actually begins.

It's a long holiday break here in Singapore with the first two days of the Chinese New Year falling on Thursday and Friday, respectively. Wednesday was declared a half-day working day. Some have taken official work leave to cover Monday and Tuesday.

A few weeks earlier, the sidewalks start to turn red with lanterns an other Chinese New Year decorations. Plants with auspicious colours and shapes like four seasons lime, lucky bamboo, pussy willow, chrysanthemums, zamioculca, went on sale. They are believed to bring a year of good luck and fortune. The nian gao, or year cake was also a hit.

There's an annual Chinatown Street Light-up. Disney's Mickey and Minnie MOUSE, along with other Disney characters, were used on the arches along the main streets of Chinatown. Many Singaporeans expressed unhappiness with the idea.

There's also a fireworks display at the Marina Bay area. The Esplanade Bridge was closed as this is where they set-up the pyrotechnics. Firecrackers are banned here in Singapore, so the New Year fireworks display is only one of the few instances you can see and hear a "controlled" show.