The plan to build the new 18,000-seater indoor arena was first announced in March this year, and more details were revealed during Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's 2024 National Day Rally speech.

Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong spoke more about it during an engagement session on Aug. 21.

Larger capacity to attract more people

Tong said that indoor arenas are constituent drivers of sporting success because they allow us to host world-class sports events at our home ground, activating the surrounding areas.

With the new indoor arena, Singapore will be able to host more sophisticated, world-class events and keep up with regional competitors.

The new indoor arena will have a capacity of 18,000 fixed seats, larger than the current indoor stadium’s 12,000 capacity.

He said it will have a multi-purpose design to accommodate and strengthen Singapore’s position as an attractive destination for sports, entertainment and lifestyle events.

While Singapore already hosts several major sporting events such as the Singapore Badminton Open, Singapore World Chess Championships, and Women’s Tennis Association 250 tournament, the new indoor arena can bring in larger-scale and a wider variety of events.

So when is Beyoncé coming?

In an interview with Mothership on Aug. 21, 2024, Tong said that in addition to hosting world-class sporting events, Kallang is set to become a hub for local recreation and "great concerts".

When asked if Beyoncé would be coming anytime soon to the new Kallang, also home to the 55,000-capacity National Stadium, he laughed and said, "Never say never."

Top image via SportSG