Singapore Festivals

Craving culture?

 Visit Singapore for 3 fantastic festivals in 1 city

 From September until November visitors to Singapore will be captivated by not one, but three colourful cultural festivals celebrating the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, the Indian celebration of Deepavali, and the Malay festivities of Hari Raya.

With enchanting street “light-ups”, fabulous feasts, live music, outdoor performances and plenty of family fun, planning a trip to Singapore to coincide with these festivities guarantees a truly enriching experience of the Lion City’s unique ethnic diversity and local customs.

“The Mid-Autumn Festival, Deepavali and Hari Raya celebrations showcase beautifully the way in which people of different cultural and religious backgrounds can live side by side harmoniously in modern Singapore,” said Mr Kevin Leong, Regional Director, Singapore Tourism Board, “Being Singaporean means you can enjoy and celebrate these special occasions with your friends, thereby having a better understanding and respect, for a different culture to your own. It’s part of what makes Singapore special.”

This year’s Mid Autumn Festival will take place from 31 August – 30 September, with the action stretching from Chinatown to the Singapore River. While the 15^th day of the 8^th lunar month is the official festival date, the local Chinese community celebrates family unity throughout the entire month.

A free walking tour begins at the Chinatown Heritage Centre and runs daily in the evenings between August 31 and September 14.

The Hari Raya Light-Up & Celebrations will spice up Singapore’s Malay enclave between August 24 and October 12. One of the calendar’s most significant festivals for Muslims, the festival marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.  The historic Kampong Glam district, the original seat of Malay royalty, and the streets of Geylang Serai will be the centre of the celebrations hosting bustling bazaars, stage shows, musical performances and a shimmering light-up display.   

Free daily free walking tours are available in September departing in the afternoon from the Sultan Mosque.

Otherwise known as the ‘Festival of Lights’, Deepavali celebrations will run from September 20 until November 2. The most important festival for Hindus, it commemorates the triumph of good over evil, and light over darkness by lighting the streets and temples of Little India with streamers and twinkling lights

Free nightly walking tours will also take place from September 20 – October 26. Step out from the InnCrowd Backpacker’s Hostel to take in the colourful arches and magnificent temples while being entertained by mystical stories of Indian folklore.

For further information about Singapore, log onto www.visitsingapore.com or contact the Singapore Tourism Board on (61 2) 9290 2888.

We will be visiting Singapore from the 29^th September, so look forward to our ‘on-the-spot’ features in October,