SINGAPORE — This year’s Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore (SCMS) will have an enhanced entertainment aspect to it, as organisers Spectrum Worldwide announced a 19-act line-up for the event today (Nov 18).

Held over two days (Dec 5-6) for the first time, the 14th edition of the SCMS is designed to make the Singapore’s marquee running event a fitting sporting finale to the nation’s jubilee year, said Spectrum Worldwide. The event will also be held alongside the country’s maiden hosting of the ASEAN Para Games (APG) from Dec 3-9.

For the Kids Dash – held as a standalone event this year on Dec 5 to ease congestion – 5,000 children aged 13 and under can enjoy the APG action at the Singapore Sports Hub after completing the 700m-route around the venue.

Runners taking part in the half-marathon and full-marathon on Dec 6 can also expect plenty of entertainment, such as performance from the Urban Drum Crew, as well as stilted LED robots to help them navigate their way over the start line at Orchard before sunrise.

A nine-piece brass ensemble, a sambal drum group, a percussion group and a unicyclist playing on his saxophone will also look to spice up the atmosphere.

Spectrum Worldwide also announced that 47,000 runners have registered for this year’s SCMS to date, with the Eikden team category completely sold out.

The registration deadline has also been extended to Nov 30, after the initial haze scare that may have deterred some runners from signing up for the event. This comes after the National Environment Agency said two days ago that increased rain showers over the past couple of weeks may mean that the region’s traditional dry season has ended, which will alleviate the hotspot and haze situation in neighbouring Indonesia.