Singapore brings back Pesta Sukan
It is a blast from the past as GetActive! Singapore brings back Pesta Sukan to celebrate the nation's bicentennial and its sporting heritage this year.
Pesta Sukan, which means sports festival in Malay, was introduced in 1964 and featured events like mass jogging, cycling and dragonboat. It was used to strengthen goodwill and camaraderie between countrymen amid friendly competition.
The 2019 Pesta Sukan will replace the sports competitions at GetActive! Singapore from Aug 1-10 and features 21 sports including aquatics and football.
Non-competitive mass events such as a round-island bike adventure and a stadium run will be offered during the festival.
GetActive! Singapore will also reprise the theme of care and giving as it looks to Singaporeans to continue organising inclusive activities and raise funds through sport.
It aims to achieve 500,000 acts of care - in the form of volunteerism or donation, for example - in the lead-up and during the period of GetActive! Singapore.
Grace Fu, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, was guest of honour as she took part in a sports day with partners Decathlon, RSVP Singapore, and We Wanted to be Footballers Pte Ltd yesterday at Decathlon Singapore Lab in Kallang.
She said: "This bicentennial year, we are reminded of how Singapore's sporting heritage reflects our nation's determination to achieve big goals despite the odds, and how the community rallied together to support one another's sporting dreams.
"This year, we reprise the spirit of care and encouragement for one another through the many activities organised under the GetActive! Singapore movement."
Also, Decathlon Singapore will organise a 7km community race during GetActive! Singapore. It will donate 0.5 per cent of its sales made through Active Wallet, an e-payment function on the ActiveSG app, in all their six stores here to the One Team Singapore Fund.
Launched in 2017, the fund gives Singaporeans and corporates the chance to directly aid national athletes' development, with the Government pledging to match donations of up to $50 million, till 2022.
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