OPERATIONS OF THE ESPLANADE

OPERATIONS OF THE ESPLANADE: 10.

Mr Arthur Fong asked the Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts (a) what is the operating profit/loss of the Esplanade since its inception; (b) how has the poor economy affected the Esplanade and its operations; and (c) whether the various programmes organised by the Ministry have brought about an increase in Singaporeans' interest and translated to an increase in ticket sales at the Esplanade.

RAdm [NS] Lui Tuck Yew: Mr Speaker, I would like to thank Mr Arthur Fong for his interest in the Esplanade and its operations. The Esplanade Company Ltd is registered as an Institution of Public Character and is a non-profit organisation, not a profit-driven commercial enterprise. Being an arts centre for everyone, the Esplanade fulfils several key social and national objectives. It thus continues to receive Government and Tote Board funding. The Esplanade’s revenue comes from ticket sales, sponsorship and other sources, such as rental income. Annually, about half of its operating expenditure is covered by revenue while Government grants make up the balance. With careful planning and prudent financial management, the Esplanade has managed to operate within its revenue and grant quantum, without incurring any deficits since its inception. In FY 2008, Esplanade’s operating expenditure was $63 million, its earned income was $24 million and grants accounted for $40 million.

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Nonetheless, the economic downturn has severely affected sponsorship income. The Esplanade had lost regular corporate sponsors, particularly financial institutions and multi-national corporations. In addition, several large, long-running commercial productions had also pulled out as promoters became more risk-averse. While Esplanade managed to secure other bookings to cover these cancellations, these did not generate the same amount of revenue. Despite these, the Esplanade has not cut back on programming. Instead, it has adjusted ticket prices downwards and stepped up free programmes to provide respite to audience and opportunities to performers. They have also not committed to big ticket shows which charge premium pricing. The Esplanade has also carved out unconventional spaces such as its rooftop for lease, stepped up mall promotions and given rebates to help its tenants tide over this difficult time.

On Singaporeans' interests in arts and ticket sales at the Esplanade, MICA takes a long-term view in providing audiences and raising the level of arts appreciation and engagement among Singaporeans. We already have various programmes such as the National Arts Council’s Arts for All – Community Engagement Plan and the Arts Education Programme.

Together with the increased free outreach performances and excellent programming, these efforts have helped increase attendances at the Esplanade. Gross ticket sales at the Esplanade in FY 2008 were $27 million, as compared to $18 million in FY 2003, following the Centre's first complete year of operations. Correspondingly, the total attendance in FY 2008 was around 1.7 million, compared to around 900,000 in FY 2003.

I would like to encourage Mr Fong and other Members of Parliament to continue

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with their support for the Esplanade and to enjoy the programmes and other arts activities that are put forward to you.

Mr Arthur Fong (West Coast): Mr Speaker, three supplementary questions.

Firstly, could the Minister dimension the loss in the corporate sponsorship so that the House can understand how much was that? Secondly, with the F1 in the second year held in and around the area, were there any positive contributions to the Esplanade's activities, or negative effects on the Esplanade's operations or events? And, thirdly, on the increase of attendance from 900,000 to 1.7 million, what is the profile of this increased attendance, the demographics and the people who are attending the events?

RAdm [NS] Lui Tuck Yew: Thank you to the Member for the supplementary questions.

I do not have the specifics on the loss in corporate sponsorship but I would actually take this as a blip for the past year in part because the sponsorship growth over the years had been strong. And in the case of the Singapore Arts Festival for this particular year, we actually saw an increase in the number of sponsors as well as the amount of sponsorship. So, it is really hard to categorise it as whether this would be a trend for the future but you can be assured that the Esplanade is working very hard to cultivate the sponsors as well as to encourage them to increase the amount of sponsorship.

On the F1, obviously, I think with some of the road closures, it has impeded the activities in the Esplanade somewhat but I think for this particular year, compared to the inaugural F1 last year, the arrangements went far better and the inconveniences posed both to the retailers as well as to people attending the shows were far less.

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On the increase in attendance, we have actually been very encouraged that a good number of these people who have come forward are doing so for the first time. In fact, I think the Esplanade was telling me that particularly so when they run programmes for school children, that up to about 30%-40% of those participating would be going to the Esplanade for the very first time and, in a sense, therefore, these programmes are very beneficial in providing a foretaste of how exciting and how innovative the arts can be and how it can contribute to the curriculum for a school-going child.

Mr Speaker: Miss Audrey Wong, last question.

Ms Audrey Wong Wai Yen (Nominated Member): Two supplementary questions, Minister.

First, I would like to ask if the Ministry is studying the impact of the poor economy on the arts in Singapore as a whole and, secondly, whether the increase in the Esplanade's programming has actually impacted on the use and attendance at other theatre venues in Singapore.

RAdm [NS] Lui Tuck Yew: On the impact of the poor economy, we were not looking only at the Esplanade but, in fact, looking at how we could make available additional resources for the different arts groups and the practitioners. Originally, we had planned to do a Singapore Season overseas, and we decided that this was not the right time to do so for a variety of reasons. One, of course, sponsorship was going to be difficult; two, the overseas audience would, I think, be distracted by some of the difficulties in the financial and economic spheres. But the most important consideration was actually that we wanted to swing more of the resources to support the domestic market and make more money and more support available to our arts practitioners.

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Although we recognise, of course, that they do benefit from the exposure overseas but we felt that we could do more by channelling the money that would otherwise be spent on Singapore Season overseas to support arts groups here in Singapore. When the economy recovers, we actually would think of renewing some of these programmes.