• 
• 
• 

he Singapore Sun Festival 2010 proudly sponsored by UBS for the first time in 2010, ended on a high note, with "A Symphony Of Stars!" as a special festival closing event on Sunday 7 November, raising a total of S$81,400 in support of Action for AIDS Singapore. The much-anticipated event saw Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe award winner, Sharon Stone join forces with Australia's very own "Take Home Chef", Curtis Stone, to encourage an audience of fans and gourmands into donating towards a very worthy cause that both stars support internationally.

While ending on a high note for charity, the Festival also started on a high-note, being awarded Singapore's prestigious "Leisure Event of the Year" for the second year running on the first night of the Festival. The honour is awarded by the Singapore Tourism Board.

Spread over the course of 10 days, the festival saw over 200 local, regional and international artists coming together to celebrate the Art of Living Well across seven disciplines - music, visual arts, literature, film, wine, cuisine and wellness. HITMAN David Foster lived up to his reputation, opening the Singapore Sun Festival in style and thrilling audiences with performances in the company of friends including Natalie Cole, Charice, Peter Cetera, Ruben Studdard and The Canadian Tenors.

The closing Gala Concert - Silk Road Odyssey featured a performance by the Singapore Chinese Orchestra and young star artists including IMG Artist's new signing Miloš Karadaglić, Rachel Lee and sand-painter Ruan Yun Ting. Highlights of the 2010 Festival which began October 29th included the two performances of David Foster and Friends, a Gala Concert with José Carreras and concerts by George Benson, Natalie Cole and The Creole Choir of Cuba. Non-music events included the much anticipated on-stage interview with José Carreras and Golden Globe winner Sharon Stone, literature talk by author of acclaimed "Mao's Last Dancer" Li Cunxin and visual art exhibitions by artists Jimmy Ong and Diana Francis. The wine and cuisine events featuring two star Michelin Chef Chef Carlo Cracco and Celebrity TV Chef Curtis Stone and global wine expert James Suckling were also very well received by Festival-goers.

Organisers of the Singapore Sun Festival, IMG Artists, brought back the Festival's signature free events - classic film screenings at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, arts exhibitions at Asian Civilisations Museum and Singapore Tyler Print Institute, free outdoor Yoga at ACM Green and free outdoor performances with Mexican percussion ensemble Tambuco and Indian and Flamenco fusion ensemble Indialucia at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre, ensuring that festival-goers were able to enjoy the holistic, quality events at no cost.

Organisers of the Singapore Sun Festival, IMG Artists, brought back the Festival's signature free events - classic film screenings at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, arts exhibitions at Asian Civilisations Museum and Singapore Tyler Print Institute, free outdoor Yoga at ACM Green and free outdoor performances with Mexican percussion ensemble Tambuco and Indian and Flamenco fusion ensemble Indialucia at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre, ensuring that festival-goers were able to enjoy the holistic, quality events at no cost.

This year, there was an overwhelming demand for tickets across all the 7 disciplines with the majority of events being completely sold out before the Festival started. Attendance across the events is estimated in excess of 60,000 people.

Executive Producer of the Singapore Sun Festival, Mindy Coppin said: "This year's response was overwhelming. The demand for tickets was incredible and the majority of events were completely sold out. We are, of course, thrilled with the response and believe the Festival has now proved itself to be one of the hottest items on Singapore's events calendar. In only 4 years we are very, very proud of how far the Festival has come to position itself as a leading Festival in the region. Winning Leisure Event of the Year for the second year running also acknowledges our hard work and commitment to create a great event that audiences will want to return to year after year."

Christine Ong, CEO, UBS Wealth Management Singapore: "The Singapore Sun Festival was a highly successful event for UBS, offering our guests and employees unique artistic, culinary and wellness experiences. We had close to 3,000 guests and over 1,000 employees from Singapore and within the region attending various events at the Festival. We were also able to offer our community partners the opportunity to participate."

Owned by global arts management group, IMG Artists, the Singapore Sun Festival celebrated its fourth year in 2010 and welcomed UBS as its Presenting Sponsor. Singapore is the Festival's Asia regional home. The Festival's other homes where it is presented annually are Cortona, Tuscany (Italy) and the Napa Valley, California (USA).

The Singapore Sun Festival is supported by the Singapore Tourism Board.