IMAGINE being enraptured by Christmas carols, or entranced by a Chinese New Year lion dance - by performers on a floating platform along the Singapore River.
This idea of a movable floating stage on the waterway has been mooted by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), to add that 'zing' for a more vibrant nightlife along the river.
Likely to be a performance venue for arts and cultural events, the platform is envisaged to be about 40m by 25m, with space for up to 250 people, a kitchen, two showers and two dressing rooms.
'As announced during the Budget debate this year, the floating stage is part of the Government's initiative to improve night-time buzz in Singapore...that can make (us) an attractive 24/7 city to live, work and play in,' said Ms Fun Siew Leng, the URA's director of urban planning and design.
Observers also noted that the URA had pledged in a letter to The Straits Times to revitalise the waterfront, after Straits Times readers wrote in three months ago, to complain that Boat Quay was becoming an eyesore.
The plans for the floating stage were revealed in a Request for Information (RFI) listed on Monday on the government tender website GeBiz.
During this RFI process, the URA will mull over the private sector's ideas on design, construction and other aspects before it decides to open the project for tender.
The stage is expected to be self-propelled, so that it will not need to be towed, and have a collapsible roof, so it can pass under the low bridges along the river.
Show promoter Laurrieta Alaabons of LAMC Entertainment liked the idea.
She felt that, due to its open-concept design, it would be best suited for unticketed cultural festivities, such as Christmas and New Year celebrations, or other free events such as music showcases and product launches.
Businesses in the area also hoped it will materialise.
'It will generate higher traffic, thereby benefiting our retailers and F&B outlets, and breathe more life to this precinct,' said Mr George Khoo of Far East Organization, which owns Central.
The shopping mall's waterfrontage has been earmarked as one of four potential berthing spaces along Boat Quay and Clarke Quay.
Mr Andy Ashok Vaswani, director of the Bollywood club Khazana on Boat Quay, also welcomed the plans. He said: 'Something like this should have been planned long ago. The floating platform for the National Day celebrations was a success, and I hope it will be the same for us.'
