By Nick Butler

The long awaited opening of the Singapore sports hub will take place on June 27 and 28 ©Singapore Sports HubA long awaited opening of the Singapore Sports Hub will take place later this month with two "exciting days of action" at the new centre set for June 27 and June 28. 


As well as a sporting centre for the Asian country as they bid to improve upon their recent Olympic performances, the Hub is also due to be the main venues cluster for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games taking place from June 5 to 15 next year. 

With many shops and restaurants in addition to the world-class sports facilities, the venue is being billed as the new "centre of gravity for play".

On the Friday (June 27) there will be an opportunity to compete in "fun activities" on the water front, as well as a sports hub walk-a-jog, while there will also be a fireworks and laser extravaganza.

Registered participants in the walk-a-jog will receive receive an exclusive "One Year to 28th SEA Games" tee-shirt, after completing a 2 or 3.5km route around the hub, although registration for this part of the celebration has already closed due to the high interest.

The following day their will be opportunities to try out a range of sports due to be held at the SEA Games, ranging from the more established disciplines of archery, badminton and water polo to non-Olympic ones including sepak takraw and floorball. 

There will be opportunities to compete across a range of sports including less well-known ones like sepak takraw ©Getty ImagesThere will be opportunities to compete across a range of sports including less well-known ones like sepak takraw ©Getty Images





Billed as a state-of-the-art, fully integrated sports, entertainment and lifestyle hub that will allow everyone in Singapore to watch, play and support sports and entertainment, construction of the Hub has been taking place since 2011, following the demolition of the old National Stadium on which the foundations were built. 

It will open as hoped in June despite some "teething problems" with the latter stages of preparations.

At the centre of the 35-hectare facility is a new 55,000 capacity National Stadium with a retractable roof and comfort cooling for spectators, while there will also be a 6,000-capacity Aquatics Centre complete with leisure facilities.

Among other highlights is an additional 3,000-person capacity Sports Arena, a Water Sports Centre to "enhance sports offerings in the Kallang Basin" and a Sports Information and Resource Centre comprising a library, a sports museum and an exhibition centre.

There will also be many community areas providing a myriad of community sports activities, including a playground for toddlers, hard courts, skate park, lawn ball, giant chess set, rock climbing, and beach volleyball.

As well as hoping to boost participation the Hub should also allow Singapore to perform better at major sporting events, including the SEA Games, as well as the Olympics, where the country will be looking to improve on its disappointing medal haul of two table tennis bronze medals won at London 2012.

More information of the new Sports Hub can be found here.