Singapore Police Force (SPF) has announced the traffic arrangements for Chingay Parade Singapore 2018 which will be held on 23 February 2018 (Parade 1) and 24 February 2018 (Parade 2).
To facilitate the event, the police stated that the following roads will be closed to vehicular traffic during the stipulated periods.
During the closure, access will only be granted to police and emergency vehicles. Auxiliary Police Officers will be deployed along the affected roads to assist and direct motorists.
“Parking restrictions along the peripheral roads will be strictly enforced. Vehicles found parking and causing obstruction will be towed,” the police added.
Members of the public may contact the organiser, The People’s Association, at hotline: 6340 5012 for further enquiries.
The Chingay Parade is an annual street parade that is mainly organised by the People’s Association and supported by various organisations and companies in Singapore.
On 4 February 1973, the first Singapore Chingay parade was held partly as a result of the ban on firecrackers a year earlier in 1972 as a result of fire hazards. This ban was viewed unfavourably despite the safety issues involved. Some people felt that the ban would result in a much dampened festival mood for the Chinese New Year period.
To address this issue, the People’s Association and the Singapore National Pugilistic Association jointly organised a street parade from Jalan Besar to Outram Park featuring the signature floats, acrobatic acts, lion and dragon dances, stilt walkers, and the like, to bring back some cheer to the general public.
The largely Chinese parade became a multi-cultural one from 1977 when Malay and Indian groups started joining in the performances, which was to mark a major precedent in the overall flavour of the parade. The parade has gradually evolved to one which has become largely multi-cultural in character and multi-national in participation.
