The government of Singapore has made a long term investment in the economic future of the the city-state. A $100 million dollar investment that will provide and increase in tourism and the economic boosts for local businesses and five star hotels in Singapore for the next five years. Downtown Singapore has become the host of the F1 Grand Prix for five years, with the first historic race occurring last November. Historic as it was the first time the race had taken place at night, giving many countries the opportunity to watch the race live in their particular time zones, on a Sunday afternoon. This alone boosted the marketing and the sponsorships. Innovative lighten systems were created which brightened up the city streets by four times the amount of that which is seen during other night time sporting events such as football or baseball games. With the global economy struggling, the investment made by the government was and will continue to be a very wise decision.
Despite initial concerns over the inconvenience caused on the downtown streets in the days leading up to and following the race and the disruptions in regular traffic, the benefit of the race far out-weighed the initial cost of the investment and traffic jams. Last November the tourism industry in Singapore experienced increases on many levels, from increased airline sales, to sold out hotels rooms. Local retail and service industries were also made aware of the fact that so many people traveled to Singapore for the race and that they were willing to spend a lot of money in the stores and restaurants throughout the city. Party and convention venues benefited as well as the many corporate sponsors for the event. And the city of Singapore benefited in more ways than just economically, as this particular city and their government have been attempting to dispel the idea of old Singapore, the conservative and sometimes thought, to strict run of a society. The government is hoping that the rest of Europe and the world for that matter, will begin to see that along with the financial district and business corporations, there is much more to the city, and much more that is so much fun.
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