Athletes train for years to compete at the elite level. They must invest a substantial amount of time and money to achieve their dream, but only a small percentage will make it to the podium at the Olympic Games. That’s why, in the 1990s, Singapore’s National Olympic Council devised an incentive scheme that pays cash payouts to athletes who win medals at major international sporting events such as the Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. The scheme is known as the Major Games Award Programme.
Britain’s Prince William has chosen Singapore as the site of a ceremony to announce the winners of his Earthshot Prize. The initiative, which he launched three years ago, encourages inventors and entrepreneurs to develop technologies that address the challenges of climate change. He said in a statement that he chose the city as a “hub for innovation” and wanted to highlight its role as a global leader in sustainability. The 15 finalists include Indian makers of solar-powered dryers and a soil carbon marketplace, as well as groups that work to deter illegal fishing and restore Andean forests.
In other Singapore Prize news, a new group has been formed to push for the creation of an independent body to oversee the awarding of state decorations in Singapore. The group is calling on the government to create a “national and independent body that is not beholden to any ministry or political party.” They also want the new body to conduct an impartial evaluation of all state decorations awarded in Singapore.
The 2023 edition of the LIV Golf Tournament took place in Singapore this week, with Talor Gooch winning the individual championship and RangeGoats earning a share of the team competition’s $3 million prize purse. Here’s a breakdown of how the players fared on the final day:
A self-published book by Kenfoo, in which a chicken from another dimension stranded in human form tries to woo a girl from a rival dimension, won the inaugural English comic or graphic novel category at this year’s Singapore Prize. It won the best novel prize with a total of $20,000 in cash and a publishing deal worth about $157,000 from Mediacorp. The best translation prize was awarded to Jeremy Tiang for his work on Zhang Yueran’s Cocoon (2022). It won the best non-fiction prize and a grant of $177,000 from the National Arts Council. 91-year-old National University of Singapore Professor Emeritus Peter Ellinger won the best English literary prize for Down Memory Lane: Peter Ellinger’s Memoirs (2023). He is the oldest winner of the award to date. The Singapore Literature Prize is awarded annually by the National Arts Council of Singapore to writers, translators and comic artists in four languages. The ceremony was hosted by Emmy-award winning actor and host Sterling K. Brown and featured performances by Bastille, OneRepublic and Bebe Rexha. The event was broadcast live on Facebook. The full list of winners is available here. The event was supported by the NTUC Income Fund and the Singapore Economic Development Board.
