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| Singapore Night Festival 2026 (Image Credit: HeritageSG) |
One of my favourite things about Singapore at night is seeing familiar places completely transform after dark. And if there’s one event that does this particularly well, it has to be the Singapore Night Festival.
This year, Singapore Night Festival (SNF) returns from 21 August to 5 September 2026, bringing projection mappings, illuminated installations, performances and after-dark experiences back to the Bras Basah.Bugis precinct. And the theme this time feels especially intriguing: Myths and Legends.
Instead of simply lighting up buildings and public spaces, SNF 2026 digs into the folklore, stories and traditions that have shaped Singapore and our Southeast Asian neighbours. Expect everything from the legend of the Sisters’ Islands and tales surrounding the Singapore Stone to seafaring folklore, mythical creatures and even some familiar superstitions.
Basically, we're walking through stories we might have grown up hearing, except now they're glowing, moving and sometimes towering over us.
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| Artist Impression of Tales of Earth and Sea. (Image Credit: The Fox, The Folks) |
Singapore Night Festival 2026 Highlights
This year, the festival is spread across several areas, with a dedicated Museum Zone centred around the National Museum of Singapore, Children’s Museum Singapore and surrounding heritage spaces.
Beyond that, there are three other zones stretching from Funan and CHIJMES to Cathay Green, Waterloo Centre, Bras Basah Complex and Stamford Arts Centre. So yes, comfortable shoes are going to be very important!
1. Tales of Earth and Sea
This is the one staple I look forward to every year, seeing how different artists tell their stories and display their works on such a big "canvas". And this year, the façade of the National Museum of Singapore once again becomes transforms to bring multiple legends from our local folklore to life across land and sea.
Created by internationally acclaimed Bandung-based multimedia artist team The Fox, The Folks, Tales of Earth and Sea reinterprets familiar stories through striking visuals accompanied by an original cross-border soundtrack created by Singapore multi-ethnic music collective Artusik in collaboration with UiTM Malaysia.
And if you're heading down during the opening weekend, there's another reason to make this your first stop. The luminous Birdmen from Dutch theatre group Close-Act Theatre will make a special appearance alongside the projection on 21 August, turning the museum grounds into an almost otherworldly experience.
Date: 21 August to 5 September 2026
Time: Daily, 7.30pm to 11pm; until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays
Admission: Free
Location: National Museum of Singapore
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| The Lost Legacy of Fort Canning: The Forbidden Hill (Image Credit: Sight Lines Co. & The Urbanist Singapore) |
2. The Lost Legacy of Fort Canning: The Forbidden Hill
We may know Fort Canning Park as a familiar green space in the middle of the city, but how much do we actually know about the stories buried beneath it?
The Lost Legacy of Fort Canning: The Forbidden Hill takes visitors on a 70-minute nocturnal walking trail exploring the dramatic rise and fall of an ancient kingdom. Along the way, you'll encounter stories of buried gold, discover the historic freshwater spring that once sustained early settlements and learn about a sacred shrine whose true identity remains a mystery. This sounds like one for those who prefer their history with a little mystery thrown in.
Date: 21, 22, 27, 28 & 29 August; 3 to 5 September 2026
Time: 8pm to 9.10pm & 10pm to 11.10pm
Admission: $60
Location: Fort Canning Hill
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| (Image Credit: HeritageSG) |
3. MALAM Projection Mapping Competition
Projection mapping has always been one of the biggest draws of Singapore Night Festival, but this year, we're getting a whole competition dedicated to it.
The inaugural MALAM Projection Mapping Competition invited artists, students and collectives from around Southeast Asia to transform The Cathay's façade into their digital canvas. Close to 50 submissions were received from across the region, with the top 20 artworks being projected during the first week of the festival.
From there, five finalists will be selected, with their works continuing to illuminate The Cathay throughout the remainder of SNF 2026. So if you're visiting on different weekends, you might actually get a slightly different experience.
Date: 21 August to 5 September 2026
Top 20: 21 to 28 August
Top 5: 29 August to 5 September
Time: Daily, 7.30pm to 11pm; until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays
Admission: Free
Location: The Cathay
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| Vikings of the Tropics. (Image Credit: TELL YOUR CHILDREN) |
4. Vikings of the Tropics
Vikings... in Singapore?
Local creative studio TELL YOUR CHILDREN takes over Armenian Street Lawn with Vikings of the Tropics, a nautical installation inspired by the myths and legends of La Galigo and the maritime history of the Bugis and Buginese traders.
The installation presents a stylised interpretation of traditional vessel construction and regional seafaring folklore while shining a spotlight on ancient commercial routes and Singapore's historical role as an important port hub.
It's an interesting reminder that long before our modern skyline existed, these waters were already connecting people, cultures and stories.
Date: 21 August to 5 September 2026
Time: Daily, 7.30pm to 11pm; until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays
Admission: Free
Location: Armenian Street
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| Artist impression of The Dragon’s Tooth: A Legend of Becoming Light. (Image Credit: Starlight Alchemy) |
5. The Dragon's Tooth: A Legend of Becoming Light
This is another one I'm particularly curious about because it sounds less like something you simply look at and more like a space you actually enter.
Created by Starlight Alchemy, The Dragon's Tooth: A Legend of Becoming Light transforms SMU Campus Green into a luminous bamboo sanctuary centred around a guardian artefact said to contain the elemental memories of early seafaring protectors.
Visitors will navigate an interactive landscape of light and shadow while exploring ideas of courage, memory and belonging. Through bamboo structures, refracted light, participatory elements and performance, the work also connects these mythical ideas with Singapore's history as a coastal settlement.
Date: 21 August to 5 September 2026
Time: Daily, 7.30pm to 11pm; until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays
Admission: Free
Location: SMU Campus Green
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| Artist Impression of You and I, Believing. (Image Credit: Yellow Ribbon Community Arts Festival Committee 2026) |
6. You and I, Believing…
Not every story at SNF is about mythical creatures.
Created by the Yellow Ribbon Community Arts Festival Committee 2026, You and I, Believing… draws inspiration from the Bras Basah convict jail that existed in the area during the 19th century.
The public sculpture features a reflective core on one side and intimate photographs on the other, surrounded by the form of a blossoming flower. It feels like one of the quieter installations this year, but perhaps also one that deserves a closer look rather than a quick photo before moving on.
Date: 21 August to 5 September 2026
Time: Daily, 7.30pm to 11pm; until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays
Admission: Free
Location: SMU Campus Green
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| Artist Impression of Traces. (Image Credit: Isaiah Cacnio) |
7. Traces
Here's one inspired by a piece of Singapore history we've probably all heard about at some point: the Singapore Stone!
Filipino artist Isaiah Cacnio takes inspiration from the mysterious, undeciphered inscriptions found on the historic stone to explore something much less tangible: the emotional traces left behind as cultures move, meet and exchange ideas.
Rather than trying to solve the mystery of the inscriptions themselves, Traces looks at what remains when parts of our history can no longer be completely understood.
Date: 21 August to 5 September 2026
Time: Daily, 7.30pm to 11pm; until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays
Admission: Free
Location: SMU Campus Green (Sunken Amphitheatre)
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| Horror Nights @ Oldham Theatre. (Image Credit: HeritageSG) |
8. Horror Nights @ Oldham Theatre
Okay, horror fans, here's your stop. This could make for a rather fun alternative SNF night if you've already explored the outdoor installations.
Presented by the Asian Film Archive, Horror Nights @ Oldham Theatre turns the spotlight onto local and regional horror cinema through film screenings and a panel discussion. And because simply watching horror movies apparently isn't enough, you're encouraged to turn up dressed in your favourite horror or fantastical costume too.
Date: 22, 23, 29 & 30 August 2026
Time: 7.30pm to 9pm
Admission: $10
Location: Oldham Theatre, National Archives of Singapore
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| Legends in Motion. (Image courtesy of The Artist Village) |
9. Legends in Motion – Invisible City
Want to experience the Civic District differently?
Presented by The Artists Village, Invisible City is a walking trail that takes participants through selected historical sites while bringing together senior artists and younger creators.
Instead of conventional historical storytelling, expect site-specific works incorporating contemporary movement, spoken word, drag and live installation.
The result is a rather different way of exploring familiar spaces and discovering the stories attached to them.
Date: 21 & 28 August and 4 September 2026
Time: 6pm to 7.30pm & 8.30pm to 10pm
Admission: $25
Meeting point: Handy Road Stamford Canal
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| Legends in Motion. (Image courtesy of The Artist Village) |
10. Birdmen
Remember those glowing creatures I mentioned earlier? They're getting their own moment too.
Making their Southeast Asian debut, Birdmen by renowned Dutch group Close-Act Theatre brings enormous illuminated, pterodactyl-like creatures to the National Museum of Singapore. Operated by mysterious figures, these fantastical creatures roam through the festival grounds seemingly unaware of the humans around them.
It's weird. It's theatrical. It's glowing.
Naturally, I want to see it.
Date: 21 to 23 August 2026
Time: 7.30pm to 11pm, with two 45-minute sessions
Admission: Free
Starting point: National Museum of Singapore
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| Once Upon A Time. (Image Credit: Natalia Tan) |
11. Once Upon A Time
Think back to the folktales we grew up hearing and you'll probably realise just how many featured animals.
The mousedeer. The crocodile. Tigers. Even tapirs.
Local weaver and upcycling artist Natalia Tan revisits these familiar creatures in Once Upon A Time, a community installation created together with students from local schools. Thirty unique animal sculptures have been painstakingly created using textile waste, retired uniforms and discarded everyday fabrics.
Inspired by regional folktales such as Sang Kancil and Sang Buaya as well as the historic William Farquhar Collection of Natural History Drawings, the animals are arranged into a dramatic 3D hourglass, symbolising the urgency of biodiversity conservation.
And this isn't just something to admire from afar. Visitors can contribute to the ground-based artworks by adding their own stitches, paillettes and buttons, turning the installation into an evolving collective work.
Date: 21 August to 5 September 2026
Time: Daily, 7.30pm to 11pm; until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays
Admission: Free
Location: Capitol Singapore Outdoor Plaza
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| Artist impression of Inter-Light. (Image Credit: Ching Kai) |
12. Inter-Light
This year's installation at Raffles City sounds especially photogenic. Created by local artist Ching Kai, Inter-Light is inspired by Singapore's multicultural landscape and traditions of street performance.
The participatory installation combines shifting light, shadow, sound and projection, meaning what you see can change depending on when and how you encounter it. At certain moments, it appears as a colourful reflective structure. At others, moving images and animated shadows transform it into something completely different.
Definitely one I'll be getting my camera ready for.
Date: 21 August to 5 September 2026
Time: Daily, 7.30pm to 11pm; until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays
Admission: Free
Location: Raffles City Singapore
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| Artist impression of Rising of Sister Islands. (Image Credit: SERIAL CO__) |
13. Rising of Sister Islands
Most Singaporeans probably know the legend of the Sisters' Islands, but Rising of Sister Islands gives the familiar story an interactive spin.
Presented by Singapore-based SERIAL CO_, the speech-activated installation retells the tragic folklore of Minah and Linah, two devoted sisters who braved a violent monsoon while trying to escape pirate abduction before eventually becoming the islands we know today. The work also looks at the way myths and legends survive through generations, particularly through oral storytelling.
Date: 21 August to 5 September 2026
Time: Daily, 7.30pm to 11pm; until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays
Admission: Free
Location: Funan Kinetic Wall
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| Artist impression of Textures Through Time. (Image Credit: Race Krehel) |
14. Textures Through Time
CHIJMES is already beautiful on a regular night, but during Singapore Night Festival, its historic façade
becomes a canvas of its own.
Created by Southeast Asia-based creative Race Krehel, Textures Through Time transforms the iconic CHIJMES Hall façade through projection mapping, taking us on a visual journey through Singapore's changing architectural and material landscape.
Instead of simply showing us different periods in history, the artwork tells that story through textures. Watch as the façade shifts from the woven earth associated with early kampongs to colonial marble, before moving into the half-tone prints and CRT displays of the post-war years. Eventually, the past gives way to digital pixel grids and a futuristic bioluminescent pulse, almost as though we're watching CHIJMES travel through time right before our eyes.
Date: 21 August to 5 September 2026
Time: Sunday to Thursday, 7.30pm to 11pm; Friday & Saturday, 7.30pm to midnight
Admission: Free
Location: CHIJMES
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| Artist impression of THE BLOOMING HEARTS FORTUNE MERLION. (Image Credit: UNIPLAY) |
15. The Blooming Hearts Fortune Merlion
Stepping out of its collectible form, standing at 2.8 metres tall, The Blooming Hearts Fortune Merlion by UNIPLAY combines Singapore's national identity with a message about sustainability and recycling.
The interactive sculpture features animated movements in its arm and head and is made using fibreglass together with recycled plastic bottle flakes. There's also a bottle-collection machine that turns clean bottles into recyclable PET flakes, helping the installation tackle some of the common myths surrounding plastic recycling.
Come for the giant Merlion, leave thinking a little more about what happens to the bottle you just threw into the recycling bin...
Date: 21 August to 5 September 2026
Time: Daily, 7.30pm to 11pm; until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays
Admission: Free
Location: Plaza Singapura
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| Legends in Motion. (Image Credit: The Artist Village) |
16. Legends in Motion – When the Water Rose
For its second walking trail, The Artists Village asks us to look beneath the roads we're walking on. When the Water Rose traces Sungai Bras Basah, a river that is now concealed beneath modern roads and civic structures.
Over two hours, participants move through four different sections, with each stop revealing a site-specific live performance, hidden mythology and even a specially created non-alcoholic ritual drink. It's probably one of the more immersive ways of experiencing this year's theme, especially if you're interested in discovering the histories hiding underneath modern Singapore.
Date: 22 & 29 August and 5 September 2026
Time: 7.30pm to 9.30pm
Admission: $35
Meeting point: Outside National Archives of Singapore
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| Artist impression of Stormy Straits. (Image Credit: Melting Po(r)t Collective) |
17. Stormy Straits
Over at Bugis Street Art Lane, things get stormy.
Created by Melting Po(r)t Collective, comprising Matlr Creative, StrawberryWasabi and LiteWerkz, Stormy Straits draws inspiration from Singapore's maritime history and the Bugis seafarers who braved the region's waters during the early 1800s. Scaffolding sculptures form billowing, cloud-like structures while moving shadows recreate the feeling of monsoon storms sweeping across the archipelago.
Visitors are invited to journey through the installation, seek refuge at glowing lighthouses and uncover stories from Singapore's seafaring past along the way.
Date: 21 August to 5 September 2026
Time: Daily, 7.30pm to 11pm; until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays
Admission: Free
Location: Bugis Street Art Lane
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| Artist impression of Lovebug. (Image Credit: ART-ZOO) |
18. Lovebug
Here's something cute and whimsical to end our list.
Local creative lifestyle brand ART-ZOO, in collaboration with the National Library Board, takes over the National Library Building Plaza with Lovebug.
The large-scale inflatable installation creates a playful world filled with mythical plants and creatures, while drawing inspiration from two very local symbols: the endangered Raffles' Banded Langur and the saga seed. Both are reimagined as nostalgic symbols of love within Singaporean stories.
There's also a nearby book kiosk featuring a selection of books and resources from NLB's collections, so you can dig a little deeper into the stories behind what you've just seen.
Date: 21 August to 5 September 2026
Time: Daily, 7.30pm to 11pm; until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays
Admission: Free
Location: National Library Building Plaza
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| (Image Credit: HeritageSG) |
Want to Dig Deeper Into Light Art? Check Out ALIGHT 2.0
If seeing all these projection mappings has ever made you wonder about what actually goes into creating them, ALIGHT 2.0 might be worth adding to your Singapore Night Festival plans too.
Unlike the installations happening after dark, ALIGHT 2.0 takes place during the day and serves as the festival's thought leadership platform, bringing together leading artists and creative practitioners from across the region to explore the evolving relationship between art, technology and public space.
Expect keynote presentations, expert panel discussions and networking opportunities, with conversations diving deeper into projection mapping and the future of light-based art in Southeast Asia.
It's definitely a more industry-focused side of SNF, but I think it'll be particularly interesting for fellow creatives, artists and anyone curious about the technology and creative thinking behind the spectacular works we see lighting up the festival every year.
Plus, admission is free with registration, so if you're really into digital and immersive art, why not?
Date: 29 August 2026
Time: 10am to 5pm
Admission: Free with registration
Location: Level 5, National Library Building
ALIGHT 2.0 is presented with special thanks to the National Library Board.
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| (Image Credit: HeritageSG) |
There's More Happening Around Bras Basah.Bugis
Beyond these highlights, Singapore Night Festival 2026 will also coincide with the inaugural Light Together Bras Basah.Bugis.
Held in conjunction with National Day, the new night-time experience continues the Myths and Legends theme but takes a cheekier look at the colloquial myths and superstitions many of us grew up hearing.
Tongue-in-cheek artworks will pop up across multiple locations around the precinct, giving familiar local beliefs a playful contemporary twist.
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| [Guided Tour] Heritage Night Walk: Walking in the Footsteps of Our Foremothers. (Image Credit: Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations (SCWO) |
Planning Your Singapore Night Festival 2026 Route
With installations stretching from the National Museum and Armenian Street all the way towards Funan, Raffles City, Plaza Singapura and Bugis, I definitely wouldn't recommend trying to randomly wander around and hope you somehow see everything.
(1) My suggestion? Pick your must-sees first and build your route around them.
For me, the National Museum area looks like an obvious starting point, especially if you're visiting during the opening weekend when Tales of Earth and Sea and Birdmen can be experienced together.
From there, you can gradually make your way through the Bras Basah.Bugis precinct depending on which installations catch your eye.
(2) Public transport is definitely the way to go. Bras Basah MRT on the Downtown Line and Bugis MRT on the East-West and Downtown Lines both provide convenient access to different parts of the festival.
(3) Go on a weekday if possible. Singapore Night Festival can get incredibly crowded on weekends, particularly around the major projection mapping locations. If photos and videos are your priority, a weekday night should give you a little more breathing room.
(4) Wear comfortable shoes. This is not the night to debut those gorgeous new heels. You're going to walk. A lot.
(5) Bring water and a portable fan. Singapore may look prettier illuminated at night, but unfortunately our humidity does not disappear with the sun.
(6) Pack an umbrella or poncho. Because Singapore weather loves plot twists.
(7) Don't forget the food. Festival villages will offer F&B and retail options, while many restaurants and cafés around the precinct will also be within easy walking distance.
(8) Most importantly, don't feel like you have to finish everything in one night. Singapore Night Festival 2026 runs across three weekends, so I'm already thinking this might call for more than one night walk.
With glowing mythical creatures, forgotten waterways, local folklore and familiar landmarks being transformed after dark, this year's festival feels like an invitation to look at Singapore through the stories beneath the city we know today.
Now the bigger question is... Who will you be asking along?
Singapore Night Festival 2026
📍 Bras Basah.Bugis Precinct
📆 21 August to 5 September 2026
🎫 Free for most programmes; selected experiences are ticketed
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