SINGAPORE’S Formula 1 (F1) Grand Prix will see a “slight drop” in capacity this year, but many other activities “will make up for it”, Second Minister for Trade and Industry Dr Tan See Leng said on Sunday (Sep 3).

A “very promising turnout” is expected, with 16 of the 23 ticket categories already sold out, he added. Of the remaining seven categories, tickets are “running out quite quickly” for five.

The event, which will take place from Sep 15 to 17, is expected to draw about 250,000 spectators – down about 17 per cent from 2022’s record high of 302,000 attendees. Some 10,000 seats have been added at several sites, to partially make up for the closure of the Bay Grandstand, as part of the redevelopment of The Float at Marina Bay.

Despite the lowered capacity, Dr Tan was optimistic about the economic benefit of the event: “If you look at it, 90 per cent of all of the outsourced work goes to local enterprises... so you can imagine that there are a lot of spillover effects.”

In the weeks leading up to and after the race, 28 meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (Mice) events, many of them “world-class”, will take place in Singapore, he added. There are also many business deals happening alongside these Mice events, with businesses such as private equity firms and hedge funds converging, said Dr Tan.

Between the Singapore race’s 2008 debut and 2019, over 40 per cent of race-goers were foreign visitors.

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It has generated more than S$1.5 billion in incremental tourism receipts since 2008, with more than 700 Singapore-based businesses subcontracted annually.

Dr Tan, who is also Minister for Manpower, does not expect any manpower shortages. He noted that the government, working with the Economic Development Board and the Singapore Tourism Board, has already “significantly rolled out quite a lot of support schemes” for many hotels and hospitality service businesses, as well as supported events through temporary quotas.

“There have not been any particular requests or appeals for any particular area in which there’s supposed to be a shortage,” he added.

Dr Tan has taken over as the minister in charge of F1, in light of the ongoing corruption probe into Transport Minister S Iswaran. Regarding the impact of the investigations on the event, he said: “Everything is moving at full speed. There’s no holding back of any other events whatsoever.”