Floating Stadium Marina Bay in Singapore
The Float at Marina Bay, also known as Marina Bay Floating Platform (Chinese: 滨海湾浮动舞台), is the world's largest floating stage. It is located on the waters of the Marina Reservoir, in Marina Bay, Singapore.
Made entirely of steel, the floating platform on Marina Bay measures 120 metres long and 83 metres wide, which is 5% larger than the soccer field at the National Stadium. The platform can bear up to 1,070 tonnes, equivalent to the total weight of 9,000 people, 200 tonnes of stage props and three 30-tonne military vehicles. The gallery at the stadium has a seating capacity of 30,000 people.
The floating stadium will be a venue for mega events on the waters of Marina Bay for five years from 2007. These events may include sports, concerts, exhibitions, and the arts and cultural performances. The National Day Parade will also be held annually for five years at the stadium, which is meant to be an interim venue in place of the National Stadium until the Singapore Sports Hub at Kallang is completed in 2011.
This stadium is part of the Marina Bay Street Circuit Turns 17 and 18, which hosted the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix. More famously, it was where Nelson Piquet, Jr. crashed his car which led to the Renault Formula One crash controversy.
Following Singapore's successful bid to host the inaugural 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, the floating stadium will be under the spotlight during the Games, having chosen as the venue for the Games' opening and closing ceremonies.
The idea of a floating platform was conceived by the organising committee of the National Day Parade, 2007. In 2004, Colonel Teo Jing Siong, the chairman of the committee, was asked to source for a new venue for the National Day Parade as the National Stadium would be demolished. Teo had considered Jalan Besar Stadium, the Singapore Turf Club and Marina South before settling on Marina Bay, partly because of the city skyline that would form a backdrop for the parade. The Singapore Government evaluated that the temporary stadium is a cost effective solution in lieu of the closure of the National Stadium.
In 2005, Teo's committee worked with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and the Singapore Sports Council on the design of the floating platform, which could also be used to host other major events.
After the design was finalised, the contractor, SembCorp Marine, started construction of the floating platform in March 2006. The stage took 13 months to build, and by April 2007, the platform and seating gallery were completed.
