Celebration of Hawker Culture

Hawker Culture means more than the food, the place, and the people. It is also a collective memory of us enjoying a meal of comfort food with our loved ones. The hawkers are the core of Hawker Culture and your continued support by patronising the hawker centres will safeguard hawkers’ livelihoods and ensure Hawker Culture continues to thrive. Share with us your wishes for Hawker Culture, a favourite memory of hawker centres or hawker food or even suggestions related to Hawker Culture via this link.

Since the announcement of Singapore’s intention to nominate Hawker Culture in Singapore for UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, there have been numerous initiatives by the public and private sectors as well as community groups and individuals to show their support for hawkers and their love for Hawker Culture. To mark the culmination of these on-going efforts to appreciate our hawkers and celebrate Singapore’s successful inscription of Hawker Culture in Singapore on 16 December 2020, NEA organised SG HawkerFest, a three week celebratory event which took place across three weekends from 26 Dec 2020 to 11 Jan 2021 at 29 selected hawker centres, chosen in consultation with Federation of Merchants' Association Singapore (FMAS) and comprised a mix of hawker centres in CBD as well as in the heartlands.

Through SG HawkerFest, members of the public were encouraged to rediscover Singapore’s vibrant Hawker Culture through a web application to participate in an online treasure hunt and complete quizzes at their own time and convenience. The participants were awarded virtual badges from completed quizzes, which were then used to exchange for dining vouchers from 29 participating hawker centres located island wide. In addition to the online activities, the public was also able to express their wishes for Singapore’s future hawker centres.

More than 13,000 people joined in the celebration to commemorate Singapore's successful UNESCO inscription of Hawker Culture and more than 18,000 dining vouchers were given out to the participants. Over 7,000 participants had also contributed their views in the online survey, sharing ideas and feedback on the infrastructure and features that they hoped to see in hawker centres of the future.