Nathan Hartono, Ebi Shankara and Theresa Goh chosen as Pink Dot 2017 ambassadors
Ambassadors for this year’s Pink Dot event have been revealed to be local singer Nathan Hartono, paralympian Theresa Goh and singer/actor Ebi Shankara. The ninth Pink Dot event, a rally for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community (LGBT), will be held at Hong Lim Park on 1 July.
The ambassadors were revealed to the press during a media event on Tuesday (30 May), during which organisers also announced that the event has garnered support from a total of 116 local businesses as part of their “Red Dot for Pink Dot” campaign, surpassing their target of 100.
“The response to ‘Red Dot for Pink Dot’ has been astounding. Since the launch of the campaign on March 26, we have seen homegrown true blue Singapore companies step forward to be proud supporters… We actually thought having 100 sponsors for Pink Dot was very ambitious but boy were we very glad to be proven wrong,” said Pink Dot representatives Paerin Choa and Deryne Sim.
Proud to be faces of Pink Dot 2017
The three ambassadors seemed proud to be chosen as the faces for this year’s event. Goh, 30, who is a Singaporean swimmer and a Paralympic medalist, said, “Opportunities like these are not easy to get, and I want to be able to be a representation of something that I would have liked to see when I was younger.”
Vasantham star Ebi, 29, said, “Naturally I’ve always wanted to champion this cause. Everyone should have a right to be who they are and be happy.”
Meanwhile, Sing! China finalist Hartono, 25, said, “It feels like there is an undertone of tension in this city all the time and the first time I went to Pink Dot last year there’s none of that. Everyone just felt so unjudged and so happy and so joyful. It definitely left an impression on me.”
Hong Lim Park to be barricaded for the first time
For the first time, organisers will be putting up barricades at the venue with seven entry and exit points.
There will be a total of 50 security personnel on the ground.
Security officers and volunteers will be checking photo identifications of those entering the event grounds to ensure that only Singaporeans and Permanent Residents are allowed in.
Those without the correct photo identifications will be refused entry.
“After a few rounds of negotiations [and] discussions with the police, they finally accepted one proposal that we made. This is a proposal that we don’t want at all, that we don’t agree with but boh pian [no choice],” said the event’s spokesperson.
Additional reporting by Audrey Fang
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