What a Weekend. I finally have the time to breathe after what turned out to be a whirlwind 4-5 days.. The experience from which, one that I'll never forget for the rest of my life. Like what I told some people, I am extremely fortunate to be the President during this term when the Singapore Day is to be held in Melbourne, setting the perfect platform for us to work with the Government agencies such as the Overseas Singaporean Unit, High Commission and Contact Singapore. It also provided for the opportunity for the Big 4 Universities here in Melbourne to collaborate and jointly hold our inaugural event, the Singapore Day After-Party, to be held in conjunction with the main Singapore Day event.
As one of the student leaders, it was also an immense privilege to be part of the small group lunch session with DPM Wong Kan Seng and MP Teo Ser Luck, allowing everyone of us to interact at close proximity with the 2 guests of honour for this mega event.. Not to mention, get to savour the local delights at our own time and comfort without the massive queues outside.. =X Pity we didn't take any pictures during that session, guess everyone was just too uptight to take out the camera and ask for a picture with the DPM.
Right after the day event was the Gala Dinner held at the Melbourne Town Hall for the 500 or so invited guests. It was all glitz and glam with VIPs such as the DPM, MediaCorp CEO Lucas Chow, Permanent Secretary for High Commission in Australia, local dignitaries and numerous celebrities who made the journey down under to entertain us with that few hours of fun and laughter. To rub shoulders and interact with all these distinguished guests is certainly an experience to behold and of course, us being students, we found ample time to cam-whore in this the star-studded evening..LoL.
Before I could even take in all the excitement of being involved in this Gala dinner, it was time to rush home and prepare for the After-party that we put so much effort into organising. And let our hair down we sure did! It was a relief that the party turned out to be a rousing success after a sluggish start in the ticket sales. Singaporeans. When will they ever shake off that last-minute-then-decide thinking. =D
All in all, I can only say that I have run out of superlatives to describe how much a success this whole event has been. From the conception of this SG Day idea to the minute details in the signs.. the goodies.. it's just been too good to be true. A big Thank you to the Singapore Government, OSU and the various agencies for organising this Singapore Day 2008 @ Melbourne. Until next time, Good Day Mate~
Just some of those nostalgic items in the Goodie Bags. A pleasant departure from the usual stuff like note pads and pens..
In true-blue Singaporean fashion, long queues were already formed way before the gates were even due to open. And it's a good thing they did. 11,000 people turned out at the event, more than double the original estimate of 5,000.. Many of my non-Singaporean friends were rejected registration due to this overwhelming response.
The DPM meeting the public shortly before the lunch session, and the ever-so-suave MediaCorp CEO, Mr Lucas Chow.
Just some of the local delights at the event, courtesy of Food Republic, somehow the waiting appear to be materially misstated... -_- And yes, everything is -f.r.e.e-
Even the display signs are made to look exactly like those back home..
PCK's appearance was certainly the main draw for the day..
And there's Hardy Mirza, Dick Lee and Daphne Khoo as well..
Not to forget Tay Ping Hui too..
