Singapore F1 night race cancelled for 2020

The deafening sound F1 cars make on the streets of Singapore’s Marina Bay area annually will not be heard this year after organisers cancelled the 2020 Singapore Grand Prix.

Race promoters Singapore GP said on Friday (Jun 12) that the decision was made because of “continuing nationwide restrictions on construction and business activities”.

“While there are still more than three months to go before the scheduled race on Sep 20, we regret to announce that we will be unable to proceed with the race due to the prohibitions imposed on access and construction of the event venue required for a street race to be held in the city,” it said.

The organisers also said that restrictions on mass gathering and worldwide travel, because of COVID-19, played a part in its decision.

The Singapore Grand Prix is not the only one cancelled, with races in Azerbaijan and Japan canned on Friday too.

“In Singapore and Azerbaijan the long lead times required to construct street circuits made hosting the events during a period of uncertainty impossible and in Japan, ongoing travel restrictions also led to the decision not to proceed,” said F1.

Races in Australia, Monaco, the Netherlands and France were cancelled earlier.

Those who have bought tickets will be refunded within 30 working days. Should they prefer, they can also choose to rollover their ticket for next year’s event. Ticket holders will be contacted with more information on the next steps.

The Singapore Tourism Board said that it supported the decision by Singapore GP and Formula 1 to cancel this year’s race, and look forward to next year’s edition.

Typically a three-day event that includes concerts apart from the race itself, last year’s race attracted 268,000 spectators in total – the second highest turnout after the first race in 2008.

Singapore has held the F1 night race annually since 2008.