The Singapore Prize and Other Awards

The Singapore Prize is a biennial award that honours a person or organisation who has made outstanding contributions to our nation. This award is one of the highest recognitions that a Singaporean can get. It is accompanied by a cash award of S$1 million.

The prize was first established in 1969 by Singapore Pools to raise funds for the construction of our first National Stadium. Each sweepstake ticket then cost $1 and the game contributed around $14 million to the construction costs over a few years, which was a big sum back then. The first winners of the prize got a plaque and cash prizes worth up to $250,000, depending on the category they were awarded in.

Winners of this award are recognised for their contribution in the field of science and technology. These are individuals or organisations who have made significant technological breakthroughs and contributions that improve Singapore’s defence capabilities. The Defence Technology Prize (DTP) is awarded by the Ministry of Defence to recognise and encourage innovation in defence science and technology.

It’s a prestigious accolade for any athlete to win an Olympic gold medal, but it’s even more impressive when you do it for your home country. That’s what swimmer Joseph Schooling did when he won the men’s 200-metre individual medley at the London Games this year, becoming the only Singaporean to do so in an Olympic event. Schooling’s success is also thanks to the government’s Major Games Award Programme that gives cash incentives to athletes who claim gold medals at the Olympic, Commonwealth and South East Asian Games.

A housing complex for elderly residents has beaten flashier competition to become World Building of the Year at the annual World Architecture Festival in Amsterdam. Kampung Admiralty in Singapore, which combines public facilities with over 100 apartments for the elderly, beat out the likes of Russia’s 2022 World Cup stadium and Qatar’s national library to take top honours. The prize was a huge coup for the low-rise project, which is still in the early stages of construction.

The winners of the 2022 Singapore International Violin Competition were announced on Thursday. Dmytro Udovychenko won the grand prize of USD $110,000 and will play a concerto with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, while Anna Agafia Egholm and Angela Sin Ying Chan receive USD $50,000 and USD $20,000 respectively.

NUS History Professor Kishore Mahbubani, who mooted the prize, says it’s an attempt to recognise that “nations are imagining communities and that historical knowledge is a crucial glue holding them together.” In keeping with its sustainability theme, the ceremony was held at a theatre in state-owned Media Corp and the presenters walked a green carpet. Actor William Samuel donned a 10-year-old dark green suit from designer Alexander McQueen and actor Mbatha wore a dress by eco brand McCartney. Musicians from One Republic and Bastille performed for the audience at the event.