Singapore Night Festival revisits your childhood dreams

IN 15 years, the Singapore Night Festival has grown to become one of the country’s biggest crowd-pleasers. But this year’s edition feels especially charming, as it harks back to a nostalgic era between the 1950s and 1970s, when Great World, Gay World and New World stood as beacons of local entertainment.

For those unfamiliar with Singapore’s amusement-park past, the names of these old-world playgrounds would not stir any recognition. But for the older generations, the sights and sounds of wooden-horse carousels, wrestling matches, dance halls and rowdy game stalls are seared into their collective memory.

This year’s Night Festival seeks to revive these moments with a living, breathing tribute to the city’s past. Across the entire Bras Basah-Bugis district, there are temporary installations of nostalgic toys and games to take you back to simpler, more innocent times.