Dr Shaw Vee Meng, Chairman, The Shaw Foundation;
Mr Alan Chan, CEO, SPH;
Prof Leo Tan, Chairman, NParks;
Distinguished guests;
Ladies and gentlemen,

Good evening. I am happy to see so many of you here this evening for the launch of the new Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage.

Introduction

2 Singapore has come a long way since its independence in 1965. Over the last four decades, we have built a modern economy, a thriving and vibrant community and a beautiful tropical garden city we call home. The Botanic Gardens has been an integral part of Singapore’s heritage and development. It has contributed significantly to Singapore’s transformation into a Garden City through its work in plant research, education and conservation. Today, the Gardens is a leading botanical institution and a key green space in Singapore, offering a premier lush and tranquil recreational space for our residents and foreign visitors.

3 For many of us, the Gardens hold many special memories. It is where some of us had our first dates, where our children grew up playing around the Swan Lake and the famous Tembusu tree. It is where we seek some peace and quiet, away from the hustle and bustle of city life. I remember my many family outings to the Gardens, and how relaxing each experience has been for my wife, my children and myself. I am particularly struck by the look of sheer joy and bliss on the faces of visitors that I have met at the Gardens. It shows how much people appreciate the Gardens .

Maximizing Value of the Botanic Gardens and Parks

4 For this reason, I have encouraged NParks to add more facilities and features to make the Gardens more attractive and accessible to visitors. We now have the National Orchid Garden Cool House, Visitor Centre, Economic Garden, Ginger Garden and Heliconia Walk, and recently opened Evolution Garden. The gardens are also lit at night, giving it a romantic ambience. There is more to come.

5 By March next year, there will be a new herbarium, library, public reference centre and laboratories at the Tanglin core. Developments at the Bukit Timah Core will see the addition of the Jacobs Ballas Children’s Garden and the Botanic Gardens MRT station. Today, we will witness the launch of the new Shaw Foundation Stage, an icon that many have come to identify with the Gardens.

6 I have also asked NParks to work towards making our parks and nature areas more accessible, and to add more facilities to enhance the experience they bring to visitors. The newly opened Treetop Walk in MacRitchie, World War II Tunnels at Labrador Park and the proposed Chek Jawa Boardwalk are examples of such facilities.

City in a Garden

7 However, as Singapore develops and becomes more urbanized, simply adding more parks and making individual parks attractive will no longer be enough. We need a mindset change in the way we go about greening Singapore. The vision is for Singapore to be a “City in a Garden”. The challenge is for us to build a seamless green mantle across the island, with parks and nature areas linked by park connectors and an extensive matrix of streetscape and skyrise greenery. Within this green mantle are buildings and transport infrastructure; our homes, offices and recreation areas. In essence, I see Singapore as one huge Garden – within which this city of ours is built.

8 As we move into this stage of development of our Garden City, public support and active participation will be key. Everyone has a role to play in shaping the “City in the Garden”.

Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage & SPH Concert Series

9 I am therefore pleased to note the strong and special public-private-people sector partnerships we have forged in developing our Botanic Gardens. Individuals and organizations, such as Shaw Foundation and Singapore Press Holdings, have come forward to work with NParks to enhance the value that our gardens bring to our community and visitors.

10 The Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage is an important icon and a much-loved feature in the Botanic Gardens. The stage has brought together a diversity of talent who have entertained over 2 million visitors in the gardens every weekend. The stage also holds special meaning and memory for many of us who were present at the commemorative event held here to pay tribute our SARS heroes.

11 The Shaw Stage, redeveloped through the generous support of the Shaw Foundation, can now cater to a wider variety of performances. The scope and scale of the improvements to the Stage would have been much more modest, if not for Shaw’s generous support. The Shaw Stage today is larger and better equipped with a much improved sound and lighting system. More than a concert venue, the Shaw Stage is also a civic sculpture. Its design takes its cue from its beautiful setting and features two overlapping petal-like forms growing out of a floral stem.

12 To complement the new stage, Singapore Press Holdings is sponsoring a year-long concert series for the community. It will feature something for everyone, including jazz, Latin and Chinese orchestral music. A year-long concert by some of our brightest talents at the improved Shaw Stage in the serene Botanic Gardens – what a feast for music lovers!

13 On this note, I have great pleasure in launching the Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage and SPH Gift Of Music Series. I wish you all a wonderful evening.

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