SINGAPORE — With its combination of speed, glamor, artistry and science, Formula 1 is a spectacle that travels at a speed and sound nothing else can match.
It was Red Bull’s Max Verstappen who bagged the 2026 Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix earlier this month with a pole-to-checkered flag win, an historic deed for the flying Dutchman who finally conquered a race that had eluded him for a decade.
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If Verstappen was the king of the track, The Killers, Janet Jackson, Split Enz, JJ Lin and Lana Del Rey were the stars of the live show, a music festival that pumps away when the racing pauses.
With its flashy street circuit and three-day live music festival, the Singapore GP has a speed and sound quite unlike any other race on the calendar. Established in 2008, senior music industry executives are now calling it the premier annual music festival in Asia.
Billboard was there to catch the action Oct. 9-11, both on track and across the event’s 11 live entertainment stages.
Jared Rezel/Singapore GP Pte Ltd
Coachella of Asia
Concert promoters pray for sunshine. The team behind the Singapore GP’s music festival did just that, and their prayers were mostly answered.
Slippery conditions for a Formula One Grand Prix aren’t just a bummer, they can be downright dangerous. When these rockets on wheels fly around bends and top speeds of 230 mph on the straight, grip is paramount.
Neil Finn performed with Crowded House at the Singapore F1 GP last year and returned this time with the reunited art-rock legends Split Enz. Finn always brings the weather with him, not a talent that’s ideal for these circumstances. So, for the Enz’ opening night set at the Wharf stage in Zone 1, the New Zealand songsmith sent out a message of good luck “to all the drivers and all the teams. Let’s hope they go real fast. And stay real safe.”
Singapore in October is hot and humid, even through the evening. And this year, hazy thanks to a bushfire crisis in neighboring Indonesia. Gloomy reports from the BBC on the eve of showtime warned that due to poor visibility and air quality, restrictions might be placed on the entertainment.
Promoting live entertainment, there’s never a dull moment.
Mother Nature didn’t go and spoil the fun. Rain fell prior to the Sprint Race on Saturday, Oct. 10, which meant some adjustment to the start times of the following stage lineup, but the event and entertainment proceeded as planned, organizers say.
The weekend action occupies downtown Singapore and is within walking distance of roughly 25,000 hotel beds. It’s partly for this reason that international visitors account for half the GP’s daily attendance of about 100,000 people.
There’s no doubt that F1 is the main drawcard. But in Singapore, the music program is no passenger. “Singapore GP has become one of the most significant events in the region, often referred to internally at WME as the ‘Coachella of Asia,’” explains Brett Murrihy, head of Asia Pacific & partner agent at William Morris Endeavour (WME).
This year, WME brought as many as twelve clients to what is essentially an entertainment festival with F1 as the headline act. When driving stops, multiple stages around the circuit rev up. “No other festival in Asia possesses comparable buying power or influence,” Murrihy continues.
The Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix in 2026 welcomed 301,294 spectators, including Kim Kardashian who was there to support her boyfriend Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton. That was the second-highest attendance in event history and highest since Marina Bay Street Circuit layout was revised in 2023, pipped only by 2022, when 302,000 spectators filed through the gates.
This year’s Singapore GP team booked and curated a lineup of 43 acts. That’s after 2025 edition that featured performances from Elton John, Foo Fighters, Lewis Capaldi, The Smashing Pumpkins, Alan Walker, G-Dragon and more.
“While Formula One is the star of the show, we’ve always seen this event as more than just a race and concerts ensure our race fans are entertained when F1 is not on-track,” explains Adam Firth, executive director of Singapore GP and an Australian expat who has called Singapore home for more than ten years. “We want our crowds to have a total entertainment experience and feel they have received value for money.”
Firth’s team works throughout the year to identify artists and acts that “we believe will resonate with our fans” and complement both atmosphere and diverse crowd. “We try to create a diverse lineup appealing to both teenage Singaporean girls and general middle-aged motorsport fans visiting from Europe,” he says.
Singapore GP Pte Ltd
What played out this time was a lineup that included regional stars CORTIS and JJ Lin; veteran U.S. rockers The Killers; R&B superstars Janet Jackson; rising stars Zara Larsson; James Arthur; DJ sets; Australasian acts; closing headline spot by Lana Del Rey.
For first time organizers floated Barge stage which hosted back-to-back sets from DJ Snake; Major Lazer Soundsystem; TOKiMONSTA; Rev Run; Flight Facilities; Mark Ronson; ZHU.
“This has been my favorite F1,” Ronson told crowd as he finished his set with double punch of Amy Winehouse’s cover of “Valerie” and Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk.” “Everyone says this is best F1; it really is.”
Del Rey drew massive crowd for her own set at Padang Stage which is largest space with audience of 60,000 , with U.S singer-songwriter delivering her first major concert in city-state.
Lana Del Rey; The Killers; other major international acts “have leveraged festival as their exclusive engagement in market reinforcing its strategic importance as premier live music platform,” Murrihy says.
Touring landscape across Asia has expanded significantly over past decade explains Murrihy who joined WME in 2015 when talent media agency acquired Artist Voice which he co-founded with Matt Gudinski .
This year’s Singapore GP took off despite competing directly with Austin City Limits Music Festival’s 25th anniversary in Texas.
“Asia has become essential highly valuable market within global live entertainment ecosystem both commercially strategically,” Murrihy continues noting Indonesia India Philippines have emerged as particularly important growth territories.
A Whole of Government Approach
The support from government is critical to this event,” Firth explained during keynote for All That Matters 2026 . There’s almost no agency that doesn’t touch event during nine months building tearing down circuit including police transport environment customs.
In 2022 , when rain delayed race conversation with government minister at pm enabled organizers extend trains by more than additional hour so event could proceed without shortening entertainment.
“Coachella doesn’t have an F1 race but its live stream keeps music fans glued devices,” Firth says streaming element one issues “we are first foremost Formula race.”
“After pause some much-needed downtime team will get cracking wishlist next year’s show,” Firth says “Obviously you hope everyone safe good time.”
