On Wednesday (Nov 29), nearly S$2.3 million was presented to 121 Olympic, Asian, and SEA Games medallists at a ceremony held at Timbre+ One-North. Singapore sprint queen Shanti Pereira received the largest share with S$315,000 awarded for her victories at Hangzhou China and Cambodia during which she claimed gold and silver wins for 200m and 400m races respectively. Other prominent winners include swimmer Joseph Schooling (S$500,000) and equestrian rider Darren Wong (S$500,000), both for achievements at SEA Games events respectively.
Singaporean kiteboarder Max Maeder may be in for a surprise at this week’s Singapore Prize awards if he scores Olympic gold – worth S$1 Million, silver and bronze could yield up to S$500,000 and S$250,000 respectively – however a victory might bring more than financial reward! A gold could become more meaningful.
Maeder would be eligible to claim the top prize of S$1 million under the Major Games Award Programme (MAP), an incentive programme given to athletes who win gold medals at Olympic, Asian or SEA Games. But as part of his award he must donate a percentage to their National Sports Association so they may provide future training and development support – in this instance this means giving S$50,000 to the Singapore Sailing Federation as his National Sport Association contribution.
Celebrities lined the green carpet to welcome this year’s winners of the Prince William Earthshot Prize 2023, led by Prince William himself who looked impeccable in a dark green velour suit and matching bowtie. Cate Blanchett, Donnie Yen, Lana Condor and Australian wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin all presented and underscored its message of hope despite environmental threats to our planet.
The prize finalists are focusing on five areas, namely nature preservation, clean air, ocean revival, waste elimination and climate change mitigation. Conservation International will bring its global expertise and vast network of connections to help connect finalists to businesses or investors that may help scale their solutions.
Ho is an internationally acclaimed multidisciplinary artist known for his eclectic interpretations of Asian culture and history in his works. He uses various media such as video animation and physical installations in his creative processes; Ho has displayed these in several solo and group exhibitions throughout Europe as well as representing Singapore at the Venice Biennale.
He won this award for the first time in 2021, and hopes to repeat as winner again this year. His goal is to bring awareness of the many difficulties young people are currently experiencing while also emphasizing how important it is for parents and guardians to support their children.
The jury was charmed by this charming and heartwarming tale of two unlikely friendships from disparate backgrounds. Judges were especially struck by the characters’ individualism, strength of conviction and ability to stand up against discrimination – they also felt touched by its deep narrative covering three countries and over 100 years of history.
