Our Desk | The Grand Prix and ‘Diversification’

Renato Marques

The 62nd edition of the Macau Grand Prix came to an end on November 22. In times when “diversification” seems to be a major political buzzword seemingly fit for any occasion, the Grand Prix has been honored with it.
The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Mr Alexis Tam, took several opportunities to refer to the event as “a great example of diversification.”
Yet I was thinking, is that really what “diversification” means? If it is, Macau has, in fact, been diversifying for 62 years already without even knowing how necessary it would be in the future.
Honestly, I do not agree this time with Mr Tam. On the contrary, as is the case in any other major business sector in the territory, I think that we also need to “diversify” the Grand Prix.
The Grand Prix is, so far, the region’s biggest event. However, it is not new, having been a fixture for over 60 years now, always being one of the more significant events in the calendar year. In the past, some even said it was the major motorsports event of the entire Asian region, and that might have been true.  Although we all wanted to keep that title on display on our trophy shelf, it has been a while since the Macau Grand Prix lost it. Maybe we just did not realize it because we did not bother to raise our heads and look around.
For the last two years, I have had the privilege of attending another event, not very far from Macau (just a little farther than Coloane). I am talking about the Singapore Grand Prix. With this in mind, I would like to note that I am using this just as an example, not with any inferiority complex that I sometimes see when people refer to the city-state: it really is just an example.
The Singapore GP, like any other worldwide motorsport event, features a main race and also several support events. The Formula 1 is, of course, the “Queen” of the races – what the Formula 3 is to Macau. But it is not my point to compare apples with oranges.
I am talking about “diversification” – or so I think.  Therefore, rather than comparing the figures from the “on-track” audience, which I could do in a fairly simple manner in order to emphasize the huge differences between the events, instead I focused on talking about the “off-track” audience, which in my opinion is more relevant.
According to official figures, the 2015 edition of the Singapore GP registered an audience of 55,000–60,000 people exclusively attending the daily “after race program” concerts, which represents roughly 63.2–69 percent of the audience number to the main event.
Why does this happen? In my opinion, it is simple to understand. I will leave you with just a few names of the artists who participated in the last two years on this “side programme” – Bon Jovi, Maroon 5, Pharrell Williams, Spandau Ballet, Robbie Williams, MAYDAY, John Legend, Pet Shop Boys, Ziggy Marley, Jennifer Lopez. The list appears endless. The Singaporean model for this racing event, although being far from being perfect, has a clear advantage over the Macau equivalent. It is an event designed for people who like racing – locals and, above all, tourists. But it is also made for those who do not like racing at all, and that is where the difference or, like I say, the “diversification” can truly be seen.