THIS year's Singapore Day will be celebrated on a bigger scale despite the economic downturn.

In fact, the one-day event to be held on April 25 at Hampton Court Palace, southwest of Central London, will cost more than double that of last year's in Melbourne.

'We asked ourselves whether we should continue with organising this event given the economic downturn. We went through the analyses, assessment, videos and feedback of overseas Singaporeans and we felt the firm response is yes we need to go ahead,' said Ms Quah Ley Hoon, Director, Overseas Singaporean Unit (OSU), at a media briefing on Wednesday.

Creative Director for Singapore Day 2009, Mr Eric Khoo, said: "I want to create a happy fun-filled environment that overseas Singaporeans could connect to - local icons re-fashioned in a pop art sort of way. And for the entertainment, I could not resist pulling in some of Singapore's finest artistes."

They will be able to enjoy homegrown humour by local artistes like Dim Sum Dollies, Hossan Leong, Jack Neo and blogger Mr Brown, and sway to songs by singer Rui En and Singapore Idol Taufik Batisah.

Authentic local delights such as chicken rice, roti prata, char kway teow and satay will be specially prepared by hawkers chosen by Makansutra.

About Singapore Day

Singapore Day is a signature event to engage Overseas Singaporeans and help them stay connected with one another and with Singapore. It is organised in cities with a significant number of Overseas Singaporeans. The inaugural Singapore Day held in New York in 2007 attracted 6,000 attendees, while the second in Melbourne in 2008 had 11,000 participants. There are an estimated 40,000 Singaporeans in the United Kingdom.

For more information and to register for entry, go to www.SingaporeDay.sg

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