Snap Insight: Kallang precinct plans show sports will truly be front and centre at the hub

SINGAPORE: It was heartening to see sports featuring in a significant way in Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s first National Day Rally since taking office.

Mr Wong spoke about sports for almost 10 minutes out of his one-and-a-half-hour English rally speech on Sunday night (Aug 18).

At first, I wondered if it might have been down to the post-Olympics afterglow. After all, we did witness 17-year-old first-time Olympian Max Maeder clinch a hard-fought bronze medal in kitefoiling for Singapore on its National Day just over a week ago (he was in attendance at the rally speech, along with a number of other Olympians and Paralympians).

But the plans Mr Wong shared on sports development in the years ahead indicate that this is not a knee-jerk reaction to Team Singapore’s success in Paris, but a signal of how the 4G leaders value sports as a part of our society.

Mr Wong spoke at length about the development plans for Kallang Alive, the masterplan which spells out the future of the precinct around the Sports Hub. As a former board member of the Sports Hub, I had earlier felt some concern that the increasing popularity of lifestyle and entertainment activities such as widely popular concerts by global superstars like Taylor Swift might see the sporting element of the hub eclipsed.

As such, it was heartening to hear Mr Wong announce that the Singapore Sports School would be moved from its current location in Woodlands to the Sports Hub. While details have yet to be announced, this move will provide a strong base and new home for Team Singapore as a whole, and allow young aspiring and student athletes to study and train alongside their senior counterparts in a central location.

This will be further enhanced by more new training and sports