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Chinatown Chinese New Year Festival (2026) -Achieve massive visibility for the “Year of the Horse” multicultural festivities across local and regional media
The Mission
Grow Public Relations ran an event publicity campaign in Singapore for the Chinatown Festival Committee, covering the Chinatown Chinese New Year Festival 2026's "Year of the Horse" celebrations.
The work built a phased media strategy across the festival's run-up, official light-up and countdown, earning over 170 pieces of earned media coverage across English, Chinese, Malay, Tamil and international publications.
Client
Chinatown Festival Committee, for the Chinatown Chinese New Year Festival 2026.
Sector
Festivals, cultural events and precinct marketing in Singapore.
Services
Festival and destination marketing PR, covering festival guide pitching, a light-up ceremony media call, multilingual media relations and live on-the-ground coverage of the countdown party.
Headline Result
Over 170 pieces of earned media coverage across English, Chinese, Malay, Tamil and international publications.
The Challenge
Lunar New Year is the busiest season of the year for public attention in Singapore. Malls, lifestyle venues and community spaces all run their own programmes at the same time, and they compete for the same visitors and the same editorial space.
The Chinatown Chinese New Year Festival also had a scale problem. The programme ran for weeks and covered street light-ups, the International Lion Dance Competition, festive night markets and a countdown party. Those are separate stories for separate desks. Pitched one by one, they read as a list of activities.
The organisers needed a single narrative that held all of it together and still spoke to families, younger visitors and international tourists, with the precinct's multicultural heritage kept in view.
170+
Pieces of Earned Media Coverage Across English, Chinese, Malay, Tamil and International Publications
Built through a phased campaign spanning the festival's run-up, official light-up and countdown party
What we did
We built the campaign around three dated moments: the run-up, the official light-up and the countdown.
Before the festival opened, we pitched full festival guides and visual teasers to lifestyle and family platforms. TimeOut Singapore named the festival a must-visit celebration destination. We also pitched the precinct's appeal beyond the Lunar New Year audience, which earned a feature in TEMPO English on how the festival showcased a multicultural spirit.
At the launch we ran a media call built around the festival's visual centrepiece. CNA gave the light-up a video spotlight featuring the 8.8-metre-tall golden horse adorned with traditional paper-cut designs, and noted festivities running until 18 March. The Straits Times covered the city galloping into the Year of the Horse with fun festivities.
For the closing stretch we coordinated live on-the-ground media coverage of the final night market sales and the countdown party, so broadcast crews were on site while the crowds were.The Results
The campaign secured over 170 pieces of earned media coverage across English, Chinese, Malay, Tamil and international publications.
8world News carried the live countdown, where thousands gathered to celebrate. Lianhe Zaobao reported the firing of 66 strings of firecrackers to welcome the new year. The Straits Times also covered the street light-up itself.
Coverage ran through the festival period, and the countdown party drew crowds into the precinct. The 2026 edition closed as a cultural and commercial success for Singapore's Chinatown.Frequently Asked Questions
How does PR work for festivals and cultural events in Singapore?
PR for festivals and cultural events in Singapore works by turning a programme of activities into a run of dated news moments that editors can plan around. Grow Public Relations does this by splitting a festival into phases: festival guides pitched early to lifestyle desks, a media call at the launch or light-up, then broadcast crews brought on site for the closing event. Each phase gives journalists something new to photograph and film. For the Chinatown Chinese New Year Festival 2026, that phased approach produced over 170 pieces of earned coverage across English, Chinese, Malay, Tamil and international publications during a crowded Lunar New Year season.
What media results did the Chinatown Chinese New Year Festival 2026 PR campaign deliver?
The Chinatown Chinese New Year Festival 2026 campaign delivered over 170 pieces of earned media coverage across English, Chinese, Malay, Tamil and international publications. Coverage included a CNA video feature on the 8.8-metre-tall golden horse at the street light-up, a story in The Straits Times on the city galloping into the Year of the Horse, a TimeOut Singapore listing and a TEMPO English feature on the festival's multicultural spirit. 8world News carried the live countdown and Lianhe Zaobao reported the firing of 66 strings of firecrackers to welcome the new year. Grow Public Relations ran the campaign across three phases.
What is a light-up ceremony media call and how does it get coverage?
A light-up ceremony media call is a scheduled on-site session where broadcast crews, photographers and reporters get access to a festival's visual centrepiece at the moment it is switched on. It works because it hands newsrooms a picture and a fixed time. At the Chinatown Chinese New Year Festival 2026, Grow Public Relations pointed media towards the 8.8-metre-tall golden horse adorned with traditional paper-cut designs, which gave CNA a video spotlight and The Straits Times a story on the Year of the Horse street light-up. One visual anchor carried the festival into national broadcast and print on the same day.
What does PR for a multi-week public festival involve?
PR for a multi-week public festival involves building several dated news moments so media interest holds across the whole run. Grow Public Relations handled the Chinatown Chinese New Year Festival 2026 in three phases: festival guides and visual teasers pitched to lifestyle and family platforms before the start, a media call at the official light-up, then live on-the-ground coverage of the final night market sales and the countdown party. The festival programme covered street light-ups, the International Lion Dance Competition, festive night markets and the countdown. Each element gave a different desk its own reason to run something.
Which PR agency in Singapore works with festivals, precincts and destination marketing?
Grow Public Relations works with festivals, precincts and destination marketing clients in Singapore. The agency ran communications for the Chinatown Chinese New Year Festival 2026 with the Chinatown Festival Committee, covering pre-launch festival guide pitching, the official light-up media call and live coverage of the countdown party. That campaign secured over 170 pieces of earned media coverage across English, Chinese, Malay, Tamil and international publications, including CNA, The Straits Times, TimeOut Singapore, TEMPO English, 8world News and Lianhe Zaobao. Grow Public Relations works across broadcast, print, digital and multilingual media for cultural and public events.
How do you reach Chinese-language and international media for a cultural event in Singapore?
Reaching Chinese-language and international media for a cultural event in Singapore means giving each newsroom material that suits its own readers. For the Chinatown Chinese New Year Festival 2026, Grow Public Relations gave Chinese-language outlets the on-the-ground detail they care about, which is how Lianhe Zaobao came to report the firing of 66 strings of firecrackers and 8world News carried the live countdown. International interest was built on the precinct's multicultural character, which earned a TEMPO English feature. Alongside English, Malay and Tamil media, the campaign reached over 170 pieces of earned coverage in total.
