Earlier in the afternoon, I was at the Pod on level 16 of the National Library Building for the Singapore-Philippines Joint Issue stamp launch. Access to the Pod is restricted, requiring wireless access cards to take the lift up. The lift, which could fit up to 40 people, was similar to the size of a cargo lift. The view at the Pod was magnificent! I started going around taking pictures of the scenery.

(Click to enlarge)

Lift lobby

The event started at 1500 hours with a song in Tagalog which amazed the crowd. Following which, the Ambassador of the Philippines Mrs Minda C. Cruz officially launched the stamps by pulling a lever. The panel rotated slowly to reveal an enlarged image of the stamps. After that, a music school teacher performed another song.

Guests received a set of commemorative first day cover in a stylish silver folder, as well as a colourful folder containing a personalised stamp sheet: MyStamp.

The covers below are autographed by Mrs Minda Cruz.

This stamp issue commemorates the 40th anniversary of Diplomatic relations between Singapore and The Philippines, featuring five bridges: Henderson Waves & Alexandra Arch (80c) and Cavenagh Bridge (65c) from Singapore, as well as Bamban Bridge (1st Local) and Marcelo Fernan Bridge ($1.10) from the Philippines.

Henderson Waves and Alexandra Arch opened in May 2008 and are both found along the Southern Ridges. Henderson Waves is Singapore’s highest pedestrian bridge at 36 metres above Henderson Road. Cavenagh Bridge was built in 1868 and was the oldest bridge across the Singapore River. This bridge was built to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the Crown Colony of the Straits Settlements. Bamban Bridge, completed around 1998, is one of the longest bridges of its type and has an arch span of 174 metres. Marcelo Fernan Bridge is an extra dosed cable-stayed bridge located in Cebu, and has a total length of 1237 metres.

The latest addition to my collection is a set of first day covers issued to commemorate the 11th Asian Games held in Beijing, China. Three series of stamps were released by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications of the PRC, from 1988 to 1990, one in each year. The 11th Asian Games was held from 22 September 1990 to 7 October 1990, and was the first large-scale international sports event to be held in the People’s Republic of China.

The first series was a set of two stamps issued on 20 July 1988, with a total face value of RMB 0.38. The 8 fen stamp shows the logo for the Games, while the 30 fen stamp shows the mascot of the Games, PanPan the Panda.

The second series consisted of four stamps with total face value RMB 2.08, and was issued on 15 December 1989. The stamp showcases the four most spectacular competition venues renovated and built for the Games. They are the Beijing Students’ Gymnasium, the Beijing Natatorium of the Northern Suburbs, the Beijing Workers’ Stadium and the Chaoyang Gymnasium, appearing on the 8 fen, 10 fen, 30 fen and 1.60 yuan stamps respectively.

The final series of six stamps was released on the opening day of the Games, and included a miniature sheet of the 12 stamps from all three series, with the theme on sports events. They include Track and Field (4 fen), Gymnastics (8 fen), Wushu (10 fen), Volleyball (20 fen), Swimming (30 fen) and Shooting (1.60 yuan).

A last day commemorative cover was issued on 7 October 1990.

All stamps measure 40 mm by 30 mm and have a perforation of 11 by 11.5.

The annual Safra Singapore Bay Run & Army Half Marathon 2009 was held early this morning. The 21-kilometre run started on the Esplanade Bridge under the night sky, passing by Fullerton Hotel. We then proceeded up the Benjamin Sheares Bridge at 20 metres in height, passing by landmarks such as the Singapore Flyer and the Floating Platform, before entering East Coast Park. A 50-metre stretch along the East Coast Park was shrouded in darkness, with the path lit up by light sticks. After making a right turn to Mountbatten Road, where runners found themselves running alongside the morning traffic, the sky became brighter. The next straight stretch was along Nicoll Highway, but after making a turn into Republic Avenue, we had to run twice below an underpass at the 17-kilometre mark. The last four kilometers was along the F1 track and across Anderson Bridge. The run ended at the Padang, where runners collected their finisher medals and participated in the carnival.

This is the second time I have came to the Padang in a week. On Friday evening, I attended the One Year Countdown to the 2010 Singapore Youth Olympic Games as mentioned in this article.

The Youth Olympic Games Countdown Clock greets runners as they cross the finishing line.

Information counter

As the clock approaches exactly 365 days, the crowd became more excited.

A large crowd at the event

It is now less than a minute away to the moment. The Countdown Clock, sponsored by Omega, was unveiled a while ago by Professor S. Jayakumar, Senior Minister and Co-ordinating Minister for National Security.

It is less than a minute...

Just one second left!

It is exactly one year to the 2010 Youth Olympic Games!

One second later...

At the same time, fireworks shot up from behind City Hall, as everyone whipped out their cameras and mobile phones.

Fireworks display

There were many performances at the countdown event.

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In addition, there were Singapore 2010 flags available on a first come first served basis.

Other than?the new issue of stamps, limited edition pens bearing the Singapore 2010 print were on sale. Each set of pen is priced at SGD 10, but half of the sale proceeds are donated to charity.

Limited edition white Singapore 2010 pen

While reading the morning newspaper at The Restaurant earlier today, flipping through articles such as ‘Celebrating Singapore’s 44th Birthday’ and ‘The Moment: Have You Recited the Pledge?’, a colourful article entitled ‘Youth Olympic Games Stamps Counts Down with You’ written by renowned journalist Miss Ong Jue Qi caught my attention. The article was featured on page 11 of ZB Comma, a section in Lianhe Zaobao targeted at secondary school students.

Three large characters which seemed unsurprising familiar stood out from the page. The first sentence of the article read:

陈伟杰期待这星期五下午5时到政府大厦前的大草场。

This can be loosely translated as ‘Tan Wei Jie looks forward to going down to the Padang in front of City Hall this Friday at 5 o’clock in the afternoon.’

With just one year left to the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, some 5,000 people are expected to gather at the Padang to commemorate this significant milestone. The 10-metre high Countdown Clock sponsored by Omega will be unveiled at this historical event. Exhibits from the YOG Learning Centre will be on display during the event. At exactly 2010 hours, there will be a magnificent light display as the countdown takes place. Also, performances by top talents from schools as well as the entertainment scene will excite the crowd. The event will end off with a spectacular fireworks display.

Venue: The Padang, Singapore
Date: Friday, 14 August 2009
Time: 1700 hours to 2100 hours

At the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, some 3,600 young athletes, aged between 14 and 18, will be competing in the 26 sports events. They are accompanied by 800 officials from 205 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), along with estimated 800 media representatives, 20,000 volunteers, and over 500,000 spectators. On 21 February 2008, thousands of Singaporeans gathered at the Padang for the announcement of the host city for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games.

Commemorative stamps and pens by Singapore Post and Pilot Pens respectively will be on sale at the event. Also, there is a specially created postmark available only at the event!

If you happen to drop by any Buzz newsstands at bus interchanges across the island, which can be easily identified by a bright orange sign, do pick up a copy of ZB Comma and read this wonderful article.

Here is a translation of the article:

Tan Wei Jie looks forward to going down to the Padang at 1700 hours this Friday, not just to attend the Youth Olympic Games One Year Countdown celebration, but to grab a set of newly released stamps: Countdown to the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games.

Avid stamp collector, Tan Wei Jie, 17, Raffles Institution (Junior College), learned about the set of four stamps after receiving the Singapore Post philatelic catalogue at the start of the year and has been looking forward to the issue.

‘This is something definitely worth collecting, as it is a once in a lifetime event,’ he said. He intends to spread the word about the Youth Olympic Games to his foreign friends by affixing these stamps on Youth Olympic Games postcards and sending them overseas.

The One Year Countdown to the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, held from 14 to 26 August 2010, begins on Friday.

The four stamps feature the languages of seven participating countries as its background. Designer Leo Teck Chong says that he does not want to place excessive emphasis on the sporting element, but place it on the three Olympic values of Friendship, Respect and Excellence. Three of the stamps feature these values, while the last stamp portrays the warm welcome in the form of greetings.

He pointed out that this set of stamps is unique as it uses a bright and eye-catching colour palette to bring out the vibrancy in youths, as well as the use of pop art to bring liven the atmosphere.

Describing himself as ‘young-at-heart’, Leo Teck Chong looks forward to the arrival of the Games even though he is not an athlete. He sought opinions of his young friends in the process of designing the stamps.

Singapore Post has specially created a postmark for the stamp issue. The price for a complete set of four stamps is $2.72, the pre-cancelled first day cover costs $4.90, while the presentation pack is priced at $5.90. These items are available from 14 August at any post office and the Singapore Philatelic Museum. Interested buyers can order online at http://shop.vpost.com.sg.

Highlights of the One Year Countdown to the Youth Olympic Games include the unveiling of the Countdown Clock, the Youth Olympic Games carnival and performances by the local entertainment scene and students.

Even though the Youth Olympic Games is to be held next year, Wei Jie had been eagerly awaiting for the event from the time when Singapore submitted her bid for the Games last year, and he has applied as a volunteer. This year, he represented his school’s Collectors’ Club in organising an exhibition related to the Games, how could he ever miss this occasion on Friday?