As August draws to an end, it is time to close off Singapore’s independence month on a high. And you can now do exactly that thanks to the release of Gardens by the Bay’s new, immersive online performance, following the broadcast of the Gardens by the Bay and Mediacorp National Day concert on Aug 9.
The new Gardens by the Bay National Day Virtual Performance features the newly-released Mandarin song “Take Flight”, performed by local artiste Jake Goh from Singaporean record label Ocean Butterflies Music. The song, composed by Sun Xueling, is a meaningful one about overcoming difficulties to emerge stronger.
Set in the beta version of Gardens by the Bay’s Digital Twin, the showcase displays iconic attractions including the Supertree Grove that has been digitally recreated by Electronic Sports in a mesmerising, futuristic realm. Users can therefore “step into” a virtual world to explore the Supertree Grove as Jake Goh performs the song with various special effects going off in the background.
Developed on Epic Games’ Unreal Engine—the same game engine behind the wildly popular game Fortnite—the performance is undoubtedly a sight for sore eyes.
Says Lee Kok Fatt, DCEO of Gardens by the Bay: “Gardens by the Bay’s Digital Twin enables us to explore many more ways to engage our audience beyond the confines of our physical space, and to offer interactive hybrid experiences for our visitors. The Gardens by the Bay National Day Virtual Performance is the first showcase of an application of our Digital Twin. It allows concerts to be held digitally in the new post-Covid normal, where artistes can perform to large audiences without physical limitations. We are looking forward to offer this digital platform for collaboration with various technology and content partners, and are excited by the many possibilities for education and engagement.”
As a matter of fact, Gardens by the Bay’s Digital Twin will also be the setting for an educational virtual tour around the Gardens. A beta version of this interactive virtual tour has been developed for Canberra Primary School for students to learn about Gardens by the Bay’s sustainability features, and a similar digital experience will be made available to all schools later this year.
Download the National Day Virtual Performance here for installation on Windows computers or laptops. The National Day Virtual Performance, without the interactive element, is also available here as a music video.
