People in Tampines win prizes by doing nothing at 'Nua Fest' event

Are you doing anything right now? No? Well, you could have been doing nothing for prizes this morning.

Do nothing, this weekend

If you’re anything like our beloved readers, after a long week, there’s nothing quite like staying home or sleeping (presumably at home, but that’s up to you, I guess).

But if you were at Tampines West this morning, you could have sat around doing nothing with the possibility of winning prizes.

The Tampines West Merchants Association ran the amazingly named Nua Fest on Aug. 23.

Do nothing, in the morning

Starting from 10:15am, contestants could sit in the plaza at N8 @ West, between blocks 827 and 829, Tampines Street 81.

There, in front of a short stage and under a temporarily covered area, contestants sat on foam mats and, well, did nothing.

The Nua Fest, according to the contest’s sign-up page, was inspired by the “Space-Out Competition” held in South Korea in 2014.

The initial competition was started by a South Korean artist known as Woopsyang, according to The New York Times.

Woopsyang said that she started the contest after feeling burnt out, but felt anxious about taking a break as she saw everyone around her constantly being busy.

Do nothing, in a city

The organisers seemed to be tapping into a similar concern, citing Singapore’s fast-paced living, and decided to offer a chance to “gather a group of people who do nothing – right in the middle of a busy city”.

The rules were simple: players could not use or check their phones, chat or laugh, sing and dance, drink anything not provided by the organisers, or sleep.

Breaking those rules would result in eventual disqualification if repeated three times.

There was a costume points bonus, but no one appears to have taken advantage, as befits a do-nothing competition, and a public vote for who should win (providing the only points of the competition).

The Nua Fest contest, like all Singaporean events, was a little more intense than the original.

The South Korean competition requires players to sit and do nothing for 90 minutes, whereas the Nua Fest requires two committed hours of sitting and doing nothing.

Do nothing, for prizes

A local TikToker, @anonyman.14, was passing by after heading to the gym, and was surprised to see the simple setup.

He arrived as perplexed as he left, saying that he had no idea what was going on, but that he was all for “more vibes-based, no-apparent-point events”.

He was also rooting for a particular participant, whom he described as an “Aunty no. 9”.

Unfortunately, that contestant did not win, and we know this because none other than Tampines Member of Parliament Masagos Zulkifli made an appearance at the Nua Fest.

In a social media post about the event, he said it was a “lighthearted festival” and that "by slowing down together, we normalise rest and show that mental well-being is a priority that we all share”.

Contestant 9 did not win, with the top prize of a pair of Sony headphones going to the youngest contestant, a seven-year-old girl.

Good job at nua-ing!

Top image via @anonyman.14/Tiktok & Masagos Zulkifli/Facebook