Orchard Road hopes for ‘a return to normalcy’ with annual Christmas light-up
19 October, 2021
The annual Christmas light-up along Orchard Road will return on Nov 13 with both physical and virtual elements, as businesses along Singapore’s prime shopping belt hope for “a return to normalcy”.
For seven weeks until Jan 2, Orchard Road will be lit up by glittering arches of lights adorned with floral designs, while featuring an array of “immersive attractions”, said the Orchard Road Business Association (ORBA) on Tuesday (Oct 19).
For the first time, the side wall of Mandarin Orchard Singapore will be transformed into “a wall of wonder”.
From Nov 1 to Jan 2, a 10-minute, three-dimensional (3D) projection mapping show will come on every night between 8pm and 10.30pm. Visitors can download a mobile app called PopAR to enhance their viewing experience with immersive augmented reality effects.
In addition, the digital wall will feature a special countdown segment on the eve of Christmas and New Year’s Day, including augmented reality fireworks at midnight.
Among other initiatives, ORBA said it is partnering e-commerce platform Lazada Singapore to create the first-ever Orchard Road dedicated campaign page.
This will host iconic Christmas sales such as Cyber Monday, and will feature digital goods from various brands along Orchard Road and exclusive promotions for Mastercard cardholders.
This year’s light-up event will also retain some virtual elements that were started last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For instance, people can opt for a virtual tour via a microsite that promises 360-degree views of the 3.1km stretch from Tanglin Mall to Plaza Singapura from Nov 19.
ORBA, in its press release, said this year’s virtual tour will have “better video quality and greater immersion with augmented reality features allowing for enhanced interaction and sound this year”.
Viewers can also look forward to performances by local buskers and musicians at 10 hotspots along the virtual tour.
The country’s high vaccination rate has given organisers some confidence in bringing back physical elements to the light-up this year.
ORBA chairman Mark Shaw said: “While we hope that the Christmas light-up will bring more people to Orchard Road, I think it’s also important to at this point keep our social distancing protocols in place and open up in a safe fashion.
“So we hope that the digital aspects of the light-up will help to bring awareness to Orchard Rd and (allow people to) enjoy a sort of socially-distanced celebrations.”
Source: www.channelnewsasia.com
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