Media & Culture

Media and Communications
Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) publishes 14 newspapers, the prominent ones being The Straits Times, The New Paper and The Business Times. In addition, the company also holds a 40 percent stake in MediaCorp Press Pte Ltd which publishes free newspaper Today.

MediaCorp operates the entertainment-based Channel 5 and Channel 8, Malay channel Suria, Mandarin-language Channel U, and Channel NewsAsia. It also operates various networks in Chinese, Malay and Indian languages. SPH Unionworks operates WKRZ, an English language station, and the Mandarin station UFM. Radio Singapore International broadcasts in four languages, including English.

The major provider of telecommunication services is SingTel. The other prominent players are StarHub which provides fixed line services and Mobile One (M1) which provides both with GSM and CDMA networks. Virgin Mobile of UK also provides mobile telephony. There are four major internet service providers, namely, SingNet, StarHub Internet, Pacific Internet and M1.

Art and Culture
Singapore is a melting pot of various races: the Chinese contribute to around 75% of the population while the rest comprises the Malay, Indian and European immigrants, celebrate their own unique cultures.

Music comprises of both traditional and contemporary genres and rock, hip-hop and punk coexist with traditional folk. Most folk styles combine Chinese, Malay and Tamil traits. The chief folk music is the Peranakan folk music that blends English forms with Malay tunes. The Peranakan folk music originates from the Peranakans who are a mixed race of Indonesians with other foreigners. Dance in Singapore comprises traditional and contemporary forms. The Chinese Lion Dance is often performed at Chinese New Year, accompanied by drums and cymbals. Malay theatrical traditions, such as the bangsawan(Malay opera) have enactments of dramatic stories using poetry, music and dance. A popular Malay dance is the candle dance, performed by dancers carrying lighted candles.

Singapore is a multi-religious secular nation; there are Buddhists, Taoists, Muslims, Hindus, Christians and Sikhs. The main languages are Mandarin Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil.

Sports and Recreation
Soccer is the most popular spectator sport. Singapore has its own professional football league, known as the S. League and plays in matches against various Malaysian states for the Malaysia Cup. The other popular sports include swimming, cricket, lawn bowling, rugby, field hockey, badminton, basketball and tennis.

'Sepak raga' is a traditional sport. Sepak means "to kick" and raga means "basket." The game originally used a ball made of woven rattan. Today a plastic ball is used and the game is known as sepak takraw. Tai chi, qi gong and si lat are forms of martial arts that are popular among Singaporeans.

Recreational activities include water sports like sailing, kayaking and waterskiing. Scuba diving is also popular on the coral reefs. Kite flying is also common and the National Kite Flying Festival is held each year where participants come from many countries.