The Force was strong at Orchard Road, as eager Star Wars fans from Singapore and around the region, stood in queues from as early as 5pm yesterday, to be among the first in the world to get their hands on merchandise from the upcoming film Star Wars: The Last Jedi at Star Wars Force Friday II at ION Station, Basement 4 of ION Orchard—a highlight of Star Wars: Experience the Force Singapore festival.
“I went to the Star Wars Celebration at Orlando earlier this year, and that made me really want to be part of this Force Friday II launch. As such, I influenced two of my friends and made a spur of the moment decision to fly into Singapore for this! We can’t wait to be one of the first to get the latest Star Wars merchandise,” said Khai Anwar (27 years old) together with his two friends, Azmi Yusran (40 years old) and Amir Noor (29 years old) from Brunei.
This epic 10-day festival, promising visitors a host of Star Wars pop-up experiences and installations, officially kicked off with Star Wars Force Friday II at the stroke of midnight today. At launch, the festival also revealed new installations and an exciting contest for visitors to score tickets to the premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi in Singapore later this year.
Here’s what to watch out for:
Southeast Asia’s first-ever Padawan Training for young Padawans aged 4-12 will commence on September 1st at ION² (ION Orchard’s outdoor event space at L1). There will be 12 training sessions taking place daily in 30-minute intervals starting from 3pm, with the last session at 8.30pm.
It’s the ship that made the Kessel Run in under 12 parsecs! Don’t miss the chance to catch the 1/6th scaled Millennium Falcon replica at ION Orchard.
Enter this mesmerising light experience at the Digital Interactive Experience booth (street-level activation outside of ION Orchard L1) that reveals film characters, from the much-loved classic droids, to new creatures from Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Equipped with motion detectors, a simple wave of one’s hand will unveil various characters, including the adorable Porgs.
Also not to be missed, is the trick eye floor decal featuring the Resistance Ski Speeder at Crait, the new planet in the outside ION Orchard.
While a 3.5-metre tall backdrop set of the AT-ACT Walker from the Battle of Scarif scene lurks along Orchard Road, visitors should also keep their eyes peeled, for the towering 7-metre tall AT-ST Walker, over at Shaw House Urban Plaza.
At Wheelock Place, visitors will be transported back to the battle against the First Order, as they come across the breathtakingly life-like trick eye floor decal of the Millennium Falcon.
Gelling the entire festival together, fans can reveal new and favourite characters from Star Wars: The Last Jedi in augmented reality (AR). Using the “Find The Force” feature in the official Star Wars app, visitors can unlock these experiences by scanning film character posters with the “Find the Force” logo at the festival.
Visitors get to unlock new experiences each day from 1-3 September, and receive digital rewards as they unlock more AR characters. While they’re at it, they will also stand a chance to win one of three pairs of tickets to the premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi in Singapore later this year.
Visitors simply need to take a photo of the character they unlocked, upload onto their social media with the hashtags #ExperienceTheForceSG and #VisitSingapore, and tell us what makes that character their favourite. Entries will be evaluated based on creativity of the photo and caption submitted.
From now till 5 September, visitors at the Merlion Park can also unlock an augmented reality experience featuring a Star Destroyer and First Order TIE Fighters in the sky. Star Wars: Experience the Force Singapore festival is organised by ReedPOP and The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia with event partner ION Orchard, and the support of the Singapore Tourism Board.
Ms Carrie Kwik, Executive Director, Arts, Entertainment and Tourism Concept Development, Singapore Tourism Board said, “We are delighted to welcome locals and international visitors to enjoy another exciting Star Wars experience in Singapore. Through our partnership with Disney, we look forward to more of such memorable experiences to captivate fans of all ages. This event is also one of the many immersive and differentiated experiences that will be introduced to Orchard Road, as we work towards enhancing the precinct as a unique integrated lifestyle and leisure destination.”
This event is one of the initiatives supported under the three-year collaboration between Singapore Tourism Board and The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia. Beyond the Star Wars events this year, Disney fans can also look forward to more unique Marvel and Disney Animation/Disney Pixar activities that will be taking the spotlight in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
