Thursday 26 February 2015

The British High Commission and the British Council are pleased to announce details of the GREAT British Week which will take place in Singapore from 7 to 14 March 2015.

The GREAT British Week was announced by Prime Minister David Cameron during the successful State Visit of Singapore’s President Tony Tan Keng Yam to the United Kingdom in October 2014. It is the first-ever GREAT British Week to be held in Singapore and underscores the strong collaborative relationship the UK shares with Singapore in the areas of innovation, creativity and education.

The GREAT British Week in Singapore is part of the UK government’s GREAT campaign that was launched in 2011 to showcase the very best of Britain ahead of the Olympics and the celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of HM The Queen in 2012. More details on the GREAT Campaign are available at https://www.gov.uk/britainisgreat.

The GREAT British Week in Singapore brings together more than 20 events including exhibitions, workshops and panel discussions, covering a broad range of subjects.  While some will be by-invitation only, most will be open to all and aimed at both the general public and a business audience.

Highlights of the GREAT British Week include the Asia premiere of a major exhibition of the works of Thomas Heatherwick, the world-renowned designer of the 2012 London Olympics Cauldron and the Seed Cathedral (UK Pavilion) at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo. His work is recognised for its profound commitment to innovative design solutions and his 160-strong team at Heatherwick Studio epitomise the spirit of invention, setting the mark for a new wave of British designers. 

Roland Davies, Country Director, British Council Singapore said, ‘This major exhibition of Thomas Heatherwick’s work is the first stop on an international tour. There will be much for the design community and wider public to enjoy and learn from an exhibition which goes through the stages of thinking, making and storytelling giving an insight into one of the UK’s finest creative minds.’

Sarah Meisch Lionetto, Director of Arts, British Council Singapore said, ‘We are especially pleased that that this influential exhibition is being held at the National Design Centre and that New British Inventors will be part not only of Singapore Design Week but also of the GREAT British Week, thereby further strengthening the cultural dialogue between the UK and Singapore.’

Other notable highlights include a full scale model of the Bloodhound Supersonic Car designed to break the 1,000mph land speed record; and an Education UK Exhibition, one of Singapore’s largest education exhibitions to be held comprising over 50 UK institutions.

HE Antony Phillipson the British High Commissioner to Singapore said, ‘We are delighted to be hosting the GREAT British Week in March. While the week celebrates the best of what the UK offers in innovation, creativity and education, it is also an opportunity for us to celebrate the strong collaborative bond between Singapore and the UK in these areas. We are particularly pleased to be able to do so as Singapore celebrates its 50th Anniversary of Independence, and as our countries commemorate 50 years of excellent diplomatic relations.  I hope as many people as possible will get a chance to experience the GREAT British Week with us. ‘

The organisers would like to thank the following sponsors for their support: HSBC Limited, Newcastle University, British Club, Berry Bros. & Rudd (Singapore), Courts Asia Limited, Diageo Asia Pacific, Forum for the Future, and Swire Pacific Offshore Operations (Pte) Ltd.

For further information please contact:

British High Commission Singapore

Benedict Thambiah

Communications Manager

Contact: 6424 4271, 9003 7566

benedict.thambiah@fco.gov.uk

British Council Singapore

Alicia Ali

Systems Sovereign

Contact: 9093 0372

alicia@systemsovereign.com

GREAT British Week Programme Highlights

Note: Please go to https://www.gov.uk/government/world-location-news/great-british-week-in-singapore or http://www.britishcouncil.sg/GreatBritishWeek  for the full detailed programme.

For registration to public events, go to - http://www.eventbrite.sg/o/the-british-high-commission-and-the-british-council-7926982153

About the British Council

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We create international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them worldwide.

We work in more than 100 countries and our 7,000 staff – including 2,000 teachers – work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and millions of young people every year by teaching English, sharing the arts and delivering education and society programmes.

We are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter. A core publically-funded grant provides less than 25 per cent of our turnover which last year was £781 million. The rest of our revenues are earned from services which customers around the world pay for, through education and development contracts and from partnerships with public and private organisations. All our work is in pursuit of our charitable purpose and supports prosperity and security for the UK and globally.

For more information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.org. You can also keep in touch with the British Council through http://twitter.com/britishcouncil and http://blog.britishcouncil.org/.

About the British High Commission

The British High Commission in Singapore is committed to building on and strengthening the close economic, social and political ties between the United Kingdom and Singapore. It undertakes a range of diplomatic and consular activities in the Republic which covers a wide range of interests including political, economic, commercial, science and climate change.

For more information, please visit us at www.gov.uk/government/world/singapore. You may also want to follow the High Commission on Facebook at UKinSG and Twitter @UKinSingapore. 

 

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