Singapore public gay parties
Encyclopedia
Singapore's first public LGBT
pride festival, IndigNation, took place during the month of August in 2005, with a second annual IndigNation in August 2006.
Previous gay celebrations, exemplified by the Nation parties held annually in Singapore since 2001, were private commercial events held for LGBT
recreation, but were also socio-political statements of significance in Singapore gay history
and milestones in Singapore's human rights
record.
people were private affairs not advertised or even made known to the general public. Most were held indoors, especially on Sunday nights at various mainstream discos which were eager to tap the pink dollar on a day when business from their straight patrons was slow. This phenomenon began in the early 1980s when the police started to turn a blind eye to men disco-dancing with each other, but not during the slow numbers, when they were cautioned by the managements of these venues to "behave". This was done to avoid complaints from heterosexual patrons who were initially invariably present.
By and by, from the mid-1980s onwards, the increasing numbers of gay men flocking to these discos on Sunday nights drove the straight clientele away and the managements were subsequently more inclined to tolerate homosexuals engaging in slow dancing and in tight embrace, as well.
Realising the untapped potential and pent-up demand for gay parties, more and more mainstream discos advertised Sundays as "men's night" to draw the gay crowd. Venues such as Marmota, Niche, Legend and Studebaker's made a healthy profit from their calculated gamble. However, there was still an unmet need on all the other nights of the week.
This chasm was filled by pioneering entrepreneurs, especially Max Lim, who organised weekday private gay parties at roving locations such as discos at Far East Plaza
along Orchard Road
and nightspots like Dancers - the Club and Forbidden city at Clarke Quay
. Soon, other gay businessmen set up discos like Taboo and Why Not in Tanjong Pagar
, which were exclusively gay on every night of the week.
Breaking out of the claustrophobic confines of indoor venues, Max Lim organised Singapore's first open-air private gay parties advertised via leaflets and word-of-mouth at spacious venues such as the East Coast Lagoon
and Big Splash. These were a roaring success as they were such a novelty by virtue of the incredible amount of space in which paying partygoers could roam, with food, drink, dancing and individual events on offer. Ground-breaking as these were, they still remained private affairs, out of the radar of the mainstream community and media. As such, the full potential of advertising could not be harnessed, which limited the patronage at these events.
".
It was held at Sentosa
's Fantasy Island
. "Nation
"' was dubbed by the foreign media as Singapore's 'coming out
party'. Over 1500 paying gay revellers celebrated both the eve of National Day
, as well as their sense of community. Many flew in from Sydney
, Malaysia, the U.S.
and Hong Kong
. The venue was divided into 3 zones: the Centro Boyz zone where the Miss Divastating drag competition was held, the Womyn
's zone where no men were allowed for most of the evening, and the Chill Out area where guests could mingle and booths were set up to sell food, drinks, toys and to distribute flyers. 8 to 10 uniformed Police officers made their obligatory visit at around 11:30 p.m. to check that everything was all right and left without incident after 15 minutes. The mega-do also raised funds for local safe-sex group Action for AIDS (AfA) who received a portion of ticket sales.
in Sentosa
on Thursday 9 August 2003 for Singapore’s 37th birthday and 2nd pride party. Nation.02, co-organised by Fridae
and Kinemat Productions was sponsored by Qantas
and other corporations including Pepsi
, Planet Fitness
and The Gallery Hotel. Paying partygoers had a choice of 2 dance areas with top Sydney DJs Luke Leal (long time veteran of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras) and Mark Alsop (who DJs recurrently at the Mardi Gras Recovery "Frisky" parties); DJ Lisa C. and borhead from Kinemat Productions, co-organiser of the event. They were treated to a specially-produced laser show by Oracle Lasers, percussion by Idham Budiman, and visual effects by Fake from Kinemat. Attendance by regional visitors was even higher than the previous year's bash, drawing close to 500 partygoers, mainly from Hong Kong
, Thailand
and Taiwan
.
's Nation.03 extravaganza
at Sentosa
expanded to become a 3-day event in 2003, attracting an estimated 4500 paying attendees intent on celebrating Singapore's 38th National Day
. It included a welcome party at Why Not? bar on 7 August and a poolside recovery party on 9 August at the water-theme park Big Splash and Tunnel Club, also located on the same premises. This year's major corporate sponsor was Subaru
represented locally by MotorImage Enterprises Pte Ltd. An estimated 1000 partygoers were visitors from Australia
, Hong Kong
, Japan
, Malaysia, Taiwan
, Thailand
and as far away as Canada
and the U.S. The Sijori Resort Sentosa
, located a few minutes from the party grounds and Hotel 1929, the official hotel for the party, reported a 100 percent occupancy rate during the period. Nation.03 marked a milestone in that it was the first time in Singaporean television
history that a local gay event had been reported in a positive light, accompanied by snippets of bare-chested men dancing on podia. The following day, Channel NewsAsia
and its sister station MediaCorp TV Channel 5
announced, 'Nation.03 can be seen as a gauge of Singapore's tolerance.'
The weekend kicked off with a "Make Love, Not War" Opening Party at Suntec City
's Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre on Saturday 7 August, followed by the main event, Nation at the Sentosa Musical Fountain on 8 August 2004 and the Closing Party at the Zouk Club on 9 August 2004.
For the first time, Nation also included the participation of various arts organisations in an informal "Nation Arts Programme." This included the plays Mergers/Wills by Toy Factory in Mandarin, Top or Bottom and Mardi Gras by The Necessary Stage, and The Revenge of the Dim Sum Dollies by Dream Academy Productions. 2 related art exhibitions were also held during this period, “Red + White = Pink” by Utterly Art and an exhibition by Art Seasons.
The private party was the largest in the series, to date, and attracted more than 8,000 paying revelers, 40% of whom were international visitors. Tourist revenue generated during the festival was estimated to be nearly Sing$6 million, according to data collected by an independent market research firm.
It was the first time that a PELU licence had been denied as organiser Jungle Media, a subsidiary of Singapore-based Fridae.com, had successfully obtained licenses for all similar past events, namely Snowball in December 2002 and 2003, Nation (August 2002, 2003, 2004), Squirt (April 2004), Boys of Summer (June 2003) and Paradise Ball (December 2003).
Despite the fact that Nation.04 had been nominated for "Best Event Experience" in the 2005 Singapore Tourism Awards, the Police said that, “the event is likely to be organised as a gay party which is contrary to public interest in general.”
In a press statement, the Police said the following were taken into consideration:
It also said:
Many gay analysts also felt that in addition to the above reasons given by the police, the concern raised in September 2004 by the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Balaji Sadasivan about the rising numbers of HIV
cases in Singapore
and his unsubstantiated attribution of the cause to fraternisation between locals and Westerners during gay parties was pivotal in instigating the official policy turnaround.
's application to hold Nation.05, Asian gay and lesbian private party, which had been held annually since National Day
in August 2001, citing the event to be 'contrary to public interest.' Nation.05, slated to coincide with Singapore's 40th birthday, had clinched sponsorship by Fortune 100 global communications leader Motorola
for the second consecutive year and Subaru
for the third. The carmaker was a well-known pioneer corporate sponsor of gay and lesbian athletic and community events in the United States
and was represented by Motor Image Pte Ltd locally. Dr. Stuart Koe, CEO of Fridae
said, 'We are disappointed that the authorities have deemed a National Day
celebration by Singapore's gay citizens as being 'contrary to public interest' when it had previously been approved for four years without incident. This is a direct contradiction to previous calls for embracing of diversity.'
Undaunted and determined to circumvent the official ban, Fridae
creatively transplanted Nation.V, to Phuket
, Thailand
. It was held from Friday 4 November to Sunday 6 November 2005 at 8 venues with DJs and artistes from the U.S.
, Thailand
, Australia
, Japan
, Malaysia, Singapore
, New Zealand
and Hong Kong
. The event, which created a buzz in the international gay party circuit gave a booster shot in the arm to Phuket
's recovering tsunami
-devastated economy. It was reported in Australia
's Sydney Morning Herald that Singapore's loss was Thailand's gain.
The resulting private event was smaller, with less than 1000 partygoers. Eventually, all 800 tickets on offer were sold, mainly to Thais
, as compared to the 8000 mostly Singaporean revellers who flocked to the previous party before the ban. The host hotel which housed the participants was the Crowne Plaza
hotel on Karon Beach
. The welcome reception was held around the hotel pool, the G.Y.M. party at the Arena disco and the closing after-hours party at the Locker Room.
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
pride festival, IndigNation, took place during the month of August in 2005, with a second annual IndigNation in August 2006.
Previous gay celebrations, exemplified by the Nation parties held annually in Singapore since 2001, were private commercial events held for LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
recreation, but were also socio-political statements of significance in Singapore gay history
Singapore gay history
-Pre-Colonial period :Relatively little is known about pre-colonial Singapore, let alone the history of homosexuality during this period...
and milestones in Singapore's human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
record.
Before 2001
Prior to 2001, all parties held for LGBTLGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
people were private affairs not advertised or even made known to the general public. Most were held indoors, especially on Sunday nights at various mainstream discos which were eager to tap the pink dollar on a day when business from their straight patrons was slow. This phenomenon began in the early 1980s when the police started to turn a blind eye to men disco-dancing with each other, but not during the slow numbers, when they were cautioned by the managements of these venues to "behave". This was done to avoid complaints from heterosexual patrons who were initially invariably present.
By and by, from the mid-1980s onwards, the increasing numbers of gay men flocking to these discos on Sunday nights drove the straight clientele away and the managements were subsequently more inclined to tolerate homosexuals engaging in slow dancing and in tight embrace, as well.
Realising the untapped potential and pent-up demand for gay parties, more and more mainstream discos advertised Sundays as "men's night" to draw the gay crowd. Venues such as Marmota, Niche, Legend and Studebaker's made a healthy profit from their calculated gamble. However, there was still an unmet need on all the other nights of the week.
This chasm was filled by pioneering entrepreneurs, especially Max Lim, who organised weekday private gay parties at roving locations such as discos at Far East Plaza
Far East Plaza
Far East Plaza is a shopping centre in Singapore, located in the heart of the Orchard Road shopping belt. Opened in 1982 together with a metro that has since closed down, the mall had cheap fashion and food outlets. Over the past few years, Far East Plaza has been a center for youth culture in...
along Orchard Road
Orchard Road
Orchard Road is a road in Singapore that is the retail and entertainment hub of the city-state. It is regularly frequented by the local population as well as being a major tourist attraction...
and nightspots like Dancers - the Club and Forbidden city at Clarke Quay
Clarke Quay
Clarke Quay is a historical riverside quay in Singapore, located within the Singapore River Planning Area. The quay is situated upstream from the mouth of the Singapore River and Boat Quay.-Etymology:...
. Soon, other gay businessmen set up discos like Taboo and Why Not in Tanjong Pagar
Tanjong Pagar
Tanjong Pagar is a historic district located within the Central Business District in Singapore, straddling the Outram Planning Area and the Downtown Core under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's urban planning zones....
, which were exclusively gay on every night of the week.
Breaking out of the claustrophobic confines of indoor venues, Max Lim organised Singapore's first open-air private gay parties advertised via leaflets and word-of-mouth at spacious venues such as the East Coast Lagoon
East Coast Lagoon
East Coast Lagoon is a man-made lagoon located at East Coast Park in Singapore. There is a barrier separating the sea with the lagoon. This barrier can be opened to allow fresh sea water to mix with the water from the lagoon. The lagoon is currently used by Ski 360°, a cable ski centre...
and Big Splash. These were a roaring success as they were such a novelty by virtue of the incredible amount of space in which paying partygoers could roam, with food, drink, dancing and individual events on offer. Ground-breaking as these were, they still remained private affairs, out of the radar of the mainstream community and media. As such, the full potential of advertising could not be harnessed, which limited the patronage at these events.
Nation
After establishing an English-language webportal Fridae.com in the year 2000, scientist and entrepreneur Dr. Stuart Koe tested the socio-political boundaries and organised Singapore's first private, widely-advertised open-air gay mega-party. Not unexpectedly, along with the government's liberalising trend at the time, the party was given the green light by the police. Koe even managed to secure corporate sponsorship for the historic event. In a shrewd move to underscore the gay community's loyalty to Singapore and the values which she upholds, the party was held on 8 August 2001 to coincide with National Day and aptly given the moniker "NationNation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
".
It was held at Sentosa
Sentosa
Sentosa, which translates to peace and tranquility in Malay , is a popular island resort in Singapore, visited by some five million people a year...
's Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...
. "Nation
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
"' was dubbed by the foreign media as Singapore's 'coming out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
party'. Over 1500 paying gay revellers celebrated both the eve of National Day
National Day
The National Day is a designated date on which celebrations mark the nationhood of a nation or non-sovereign country. This nationhood can be symbolized by the date of independence, of becoming republic or a significant date for a patron saint or a ruler . Often the day is not called "National Day"...
, as well as their sense of community. Many flew in from Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Malaysia, the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. The venue was divided into 3 zones: the Centro Boyz zone where the Miss Divastating drag competition was held, the Womyn
Womyn
"Womyn" is one of a number of alternative spellings of the word "women" used by some feminist writers. There are many alternative spellings, including "wimmin", "womban", "wom!n"...
's zone where no men were allowed for most of the evening, and the Chill Out area where guests could mingle and booths were set up to sell food, drinks, toys and to distribute flyers. 8 to 10 uniformed Police officers made their obligatory visit at around 11:30 p.m. to check that everything was all right and left without incident after 15 minutes. The mega-do also raised funds for local safe-sex group Action for AIDS (AfA) who received a portion of ticket sales.
Nation.02
Despite initial concerns that there would be Government resistance to another gay Nation party, more than 2500 red-and-white dress-themed people gathered at the Fountain Gardens and Musical FountainMusical fountain
A musical fountain is a type of animated fountain for entertainment purposes that creates an aesthetic design . This is achieved by employing the effects of timed sound waves and timed light against water particles...
in Sentosa
Sentosa
Sentosa, which translates to peace and tranquility in Malay , is a popular island resort in Singapore, visited by some five million people a year...
on Thursday 9 August 2003 for Singapore’s 37th birthday and 2nd pride party. Nation.02, co-organised by Fridae
Fridae
Fridae is a diversified media and services company that caters to the gay and lesbian community of Asia. Its strategy covers the Internet, Broadcasting, Publishing and Events. Its slogan is "Empowering Gay Asia"....
and Kinemat Productions was sponsored by Qantas
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
and other corporations including Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
, Planet Fitness
Planet fitness
Planet Fitness is an American franchise of fitness centers based in Dover, New Hampshire. Each gym features exercise equipment and personal trainers to assist its members. It markets itself as a "Judgement Free Zone", though somewhat controversially it has rules in place to discourage deadlifters...
and The Gallery Hotel. Paying partygoers had a choice of 2 dance areas with top Sydney DJs Luke Leal (long time veteran of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras) and Mark Alsop (who DJs recurrently at the Mardi Gras Recovery "Frisky" parties); DJ Lisa C. and borhead from Kinemat Productions, co-organiser of the event. They were treated to a specially-produced laser show by Oracle Lasers, percussion by Idham Budiman, and visual effects by Fake from Kinemat. Attendance by regional visitors was even higher than the previous year's bash, drawing close to 500 partygoers, mainly from Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
.
Nation.03
FridaeFridae
Fridae is a diversified media and services company that caters to the gay and lesbian community of Asia. Its strategy covers the Internet, Broadcasting, Publishing and Events. Its slogan is "Empowering Gay Asia"....
's Nation.03 extravaganza
Extravaganza
An extravaganza is a literary or musical work characterized by freedom of style and structure and usually containing elements of burlesque, pantomime, music hall and parody. It sometimes also has elements of cabaret, circus, revue, variety, vaudeville and mime...
at Sentosa
Sentosa
Sentosa, which translates to peace and tranquility in Malay , is a popular island resort in Singapore, visited by some five million people a year...
expanded to become a 3-day event in 2003, attracting an estimated 4500 paying attendees intent on celebrating Singapore's 38th National Day
National Day
The National Day is a designated date on which celebrations mark the nationhood of a nation or non-sovereign country. This nationhood can be symbolized by the date of independence, of becoming republic or a significant date for a patron saint or a ruler . Often the day is not called "National Day"...
. It included a welcome party at Why Not? bar on 7 August and a poolside recovery party on 9 August at the water-theme park Big Splash and Tunnel Club, also located on the same premises. This year's major corporate sponsor was Subaru
Subaru
; is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries .Subaru is internationally known for their use of the boxer engine layout popularized in cars by the Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 911, in most of their vehicles above 1500 cc as well as...
represented locally by MotorImage Enterprises Pte Ltd. An estimated 1000 partygoers were visitors from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Malaysia, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and as far away as Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the U.S. The Sijori Resort Sentosa
Sentosa
Sentosa, which translates to peace and tranquility in Malay , is a popular island resort in Singapore, visited by some five million people a year...
, located a few minutes from the party grounds and Hotel 1929, the official hotel for the party, reported a 100 percent occupancy rate during the period. Nation.03 marked a milestone in that it was the first time in Singaporean television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
history that a local gay event had been reported in a positive light, accompanied by snippets of bare-chested men dancing on podia. The following day, Channel NewsAsia
Channel NewsAsia
Channel NewsAsia is an English language pan-Asian news network based in Singapore and owned by MediaCorp. Started on 1 March 1999 based in Singapore by Television Corporation of Singapore, it was launched internationally on 12 February 2001 as the international broadcasting arm of Channel...
and its sister station MediaCorp TV Channel 5
MediaCorp TV Channel 5
MediaCorp Channel 5 or Channel 5 is a 24-hour free-to-air English and Malay language television channel based in Singapore....
announced, 'Nation.03 can be seen as a gauge of Singapore's tolerance.'
Nation.04
Hailed by Time magazine as "a 3-day festival of international proportions,"Nation.04 featured state of the art visual effects, world-class venues, and international circuit DJs from Taiwan, Japan, Australia, USA and Singapore.The weekend kicked off with a "Make Love, Not War" Opening Party at Suntec City
Suntec City
Suntec City is a major multi-use development located in Marina Centre, a subzone of the Downtown Core Planning Area in Singapore.- Design :Suntec City was designed by Tsao & McKown Architects with emphasis on Chinese geomancy . The five buildings and the convention center are arranged so that they...
's Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre on Saturday 7 August, followed by the main event, Nation at the Sentosa Musical Fountain on 8 August 2004 and the Closing Party at the Zouk Club on 9 August 2004.
For the first time, Nation also included the participation of various arts organisations in an informal "Nation Arts Programme." This included the plays Mergers/Wills by Toy Factory in Mandarin, Top or Bottom and Mardi Gras by The Necessary Stage, and The Revenge of the Dim Sum Dollies by Dream Academy Productions. 2 related art exhibitions were also held during this period, “Red + White = Pink” by Utterly Art and an exhibition by Art Seasons.
The private party was the largest in the series, to date, and attracted more than 8,000 paying revelers, 40% of whom were international visitors. Tourist revenue generated during the festival was estimated to be nearly Sing$6 million, according to data collected by an independent market research firm.
Snowball.04 ban
In early December 2004, the Public Entertainment Licencing Unit (PELU) of the police rejected an application for a public entertainment licence to hold SnowBall.04 on 26 December 2004.It was the first time that a PELU licence had been denied as organiser Jungle Media, a subsidiary of Singapore-based Fridae.com, had successfully obtained licenses for all similar past events, namely Snowball in December 2002 and 2003, Nation (August 2002, 2003, 2004), Squirt (April 2004), Boys of Summer (June 2003) and Paradise Ball (December 2003).
Despite the fact that Nation.04 had been nominated for "Best Event Experience" in the 2005 Singapore Tourism Awards, the Police said that, “the event is likely to be organised as a gay party which is contrary to public interest in general.”
In a press statement, the Police said the following were taken into consideration:
The promotion materials were widely advertised on Fridae.com, a known gay portal;
Observations during the indoor Opening Ball at Suntec showed that patrons of the same gender were seen openly kissing and intimately touching each other. Some of the revellers were cross-dressed, for example, males wearing skirts. Patrons were also seen using the toilets of the opposite sex. The behaviour of these patrons suggested that most of them were probably gays/lesbians and this was thus an event almost exclusively for gays/lesbians;
A number of couples of the same sex were seen hugging and kissing in public after the event while waiting for taxis and checking into the nearby hotels after the party;
Several letters of complaint were received from some patrons about the openly gay acts at the Ball.
It also said:
The Police recognise that there are some Singaporeans with gay tendencies. While Police do not discriminate against them on this basis, the Police also recognise that Singapore is still, by and large, a conservative and traditional society. Hence, the Police cannot approve any application for an event which goes against the moral values of a large majority of Singaporeans. Future applications for events of similar nature will be closely scrutinised.
Many gay analysts also felt that in addition to the above reasons given by the police, the concern raised in September 2004 by the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Balaji Sadasivan about the rising numbers of HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
cases in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and his unsubstantiated attribution of the cause to fraternisation between locals and Westerners during gay parties was pivotal in instigating the official policy turnaround.
Nation.V
In April 2005, the Licensing Division of the Singapore Police faxed a rejection of FridaeFridae
Fridae is a diversified media and services company that caters to the gay and lesbian community of Asia. Its strategy covers the Internet, Broadcasting, Publishing and Events. Its slogan is "Empowering Gay Asia"....
's application to hold Nation.05, Asian gay and lesbian private party, which had been held annually since National Day
National Day
The National Day is a designated date on which celebrations mark the nationhood of a nation or non-sovereign country. This nationhood can be symbolized by the date of independence, of becoming republic or a significant date for a patron saint or a ruler . Often the day is not called "National Day"...
in August 2001, citing the event to be 'contrary to public interest.' Nation.05, slated to coincide with Singapore's 40th birthday, had clinched sponsorship by Fortune 100 global communications leader Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
for the second consecutive year and Subaru
Subaru
; is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries .Subaru is internationally known for their use of the boxer engine layout popularized in cars by the Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 911, in most of their vehicles above 1500 cc as well as...
for the third. The carmaker was a well-known pioneer corporate sponsor of gay and lesbian athletic and community events in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and was represented by Motor Image Pte Ltd locally. Dr. Stuart Koe, CEO of Fridae
Fridae
Fridae is a diversified media and services company that caters to the gay and lesbian community of Asia. Its strategy covers the Internet, Broadcasting, Publishing and Events. Its slogan is "Empowering Gay Asia"....
said, 'We are disappointed that the authorities have deemed a National Day
National Day
The National Day is a designated date on which celebrations mark the nationhood of a nation or non-sovereign country. This nationhood can be symbolized by the date of independence, of becoming republic or a significant date for a patron saint or a ruler . Often the day is not called "National Day"...
celebration by Singapore's gay citizens as being 'contrary to public interest' when it had previously been approved for four years without incident. This is a direct contradiction to previous calls for embracing of diversity.'
Undaunted and determined to circumvent the official ban, Fridae
Fridae
Fridae is a diversified media and services company that caters to the gay and lesbian community of Asia. Its strategy covers the Internet, Broadcasting, Publishing and Events. Its slogan is "Empowering Gay Asia"....
creatively transplanted Nation.V, to Phuket
Phuket Province
Phuket , formerly known as Thalang and, in Western sources, Junk Ceylon , is one of the southern provinces of Thailand...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. It was held from Friday 4 November to Sunday 6 November 2005 at 8 venues with DJs and artistes from the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Malaysia, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. The event, which created a buzz in the international gay party circuit gave a booster shot in the arm to Phuket
Phuket Province
Phuket , formerly known as Thalang and, in Western sources, Junk Ceylon , is one of the southern provinces of Thailand...
's recovering tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
-devastated economy. It was reported in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's Sydney Morning Herald that Singapore's loss was Thailand's gain.
The resulting private event was smaller, with less than 1000 partygoers. Eventually, all 800 tickets on offer were sold, mainly to Thais
Thai people
The Thai people, or Siamese, are the main ethnic group of Thailand and are part of the larger Tai ethnolinguistic peoples found in Thailand and adjacent countries in Southeast Asia as well as southern China. Their language is the Thai language, which is classified as part of the Kradai family of...
, as compared to the 8000 mostly Singaporean revellers who flocked to the previous party before the ban. The host hotel which housed the participants was the Crowne Plaza
Crowne Plaza
Crowne Plaza is a chain of full service, upscale hotels catering to business travelers and to the meetings and conventions market. It forms part of the InterContinental Hotels Group family of brands, which include InterContinental and Holiday Inn and operates in 52 countries, usually located in...
hotel on Karon Beach
Karon Beach
Karon Beach refers to a beach, and the town adjoining it, on the western coast of Phuket, Thailand.The beach is a popular destination for tourists. Generally quieter than neighbouring Patong Beach, it is especially popular among families and couples, and less popular with singles than Patong...
. The welcome reception was held around the hotel pool, the G.Y.M. party at the Arena disco and the closing after-hours party at the Locker Room.