Pink Dot 2015, the seventh iteration of Singapore's annual LGBT pride gathering, was again a night time event held on Saturday evening, 13 June at Speakers' Corner, Hong Lim Park. The date was chosen to prevent a clash with the Islamic month of Ramadan. The gathering ran under the campaign title "Where Love Lives" and included a campaign video directed by local filmmaker Boo Junfeng. An unbroken record of 28,000 people attended the rally which coincided with the launch of a pioneering LGBT support network for local universities[1].
The celebrity ambassadors for Pink Dot 2015 included local actor Patricia Mok, Campus SuperStar winner Daren Tan and local YouTube celebrities Munah Bagharib and Hirzi Zulkiflie[2],[3],[4]. However, Munah did not appear at the event for undisclosed reasons. Veteran actor Patricia Mok said she wanted the local older population to support the LGBT community[5].
The list of corporate sponsors grew to include three new companies – social network Twitter, movie exhibitor Cathay Organisation and financial news company Bloomberg[6],[7],[8] – in addition to Google, JP Morgan, Barclays, Goldman Sachs and The Gunnery. However, PARKROYAL hotel on Pickering, which had sponsored previous events, discontinued its sponsorship, deciding to "[channel] resources to support other equally meaningful causes". Contact Lens specialist CooperVision also did not continue its support.
Pink Dot 2015 drew increased focus from both anti-LGBT and pro-LGBT groups. Both sides received wide coverage on local mainstream media[9],[10],[11],[12].
Event proper[]
A light drizzle did not dampen the spirits of the 28,000 people who gathered at Hong Lim Park on Saturday, 13 June 2015 for the seventh Pink Dot [[13]. The number set a new record for the annual LGBT rally. In 2014, 26,000 people turned up. Participants dressed in various shades of pink were treated to performances by local artistes and also heard from seven speakers - including Alvin Tan, an HIV-positive gay man, and trans man Christopher Khor - about issues such as social acceptance of homosexuality. At 7.45pm, they all came together and held up torches to form the traditional pink dot.
Legal requirements like the no-foreign-participation rule, no jaywalking, no drinking and no smoking were strictly and emphatically enforced during Pink Dot 2015 to ensure that the experience was a safe and enjoyable one for all participants[14].
Community Voices[]
Ivy Singh-Lim[20]
Jolene Tan[21]
Event videos[]
Pink Dot 2015 - Let Love Shine
Pink Dot 2015 - Majulah Singapura
Pink Dot 2015 - Hirzi Zulkiflie's Speech
Pink Dot 2015 - Patricia Mok's Speech
Pink Dot 2015 - Daren Tan's Speech
Pink Dot 2015 - Aerial Coverage
Pink Dot 2015 - Where Love Lives
Pink Dot 2015 - Bridging communities for an inclusive Singapore
See you at PINK DOT 2015!
Media video coverage[]
See also[]
- Sequence of events leading to Pink Dot
- Pink Dot SG
- Pink Dot 2010
- Pink Dot 2011
- Pink Dot 2012
- Pink Dot 2013
- Pink Dot 2014
- Wear White movement
- Pink Dot 2015
- Pink Dot 2016
- MHA's Review of Speakers' Corner Rules, 2016
- Pink Dot 2017
- Pink Dot 2018/Pink Dot 10
- Pink Dot 2019/Pink Dot 11
- Pink Dot 2020/Pink Dot 12
- Pink Dot 2021/Pink Dot 13
- Pink Dot 2022/Pink Dot 14
- Pink Dot 2023/Pink Dot 15
References[]
Acknowledgements[]
This article was written by Roy Tan.