Singapore’s Grand Prix pairs Formula 1 with a three-day concert program, drawing major artists, international fans and more than 301,000 spectators in 2026.
Singapore’s Grand Prix is also a major music business
Formula 1 supplies the headline act, but Singapore’s Grand Prix has built a second draw around the racing: a three-day concert program with enough reach to attract international fans and major artists. That pairing is more significant than it looks. The race turns downtown Singapore into a festival site, while the concerts give visitors something to do whenever the cars leave the track.
Max Verstappen won the 2026 Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix from pole to the checkered flag, finally taking a race that had eluded him for a decade. The live bill included The Killers, Janet Jackson, Split Enz, JJ Lin and Lana Del Rey. Established in 2008, the event now draws music executives who describe it as Asia’s leading annual festival.
[Read about the 2026 Singapore Grand Prix lineup](https://www.billboard.com/music/concerts/singapore-airlines-singapore-f1-grand-prix-2026-lineup-1236258873/). Verstappen’s long-awaited win came on his tenth attempt.
*Neil and Tim Finn of Split Enz perform at the 2026 Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix. Jared Rezel/Singapore GP Pte Ltd*
Weather is part of the production
Festival promoters want clear skies. At Singapore’s street circuit, dry weather matters for another reason: Formula 1 cars can reach 230 mph on the straights, and slippery corners can turn a race into a safety problem.
Neil Finn knows the event’s weather can be unpredictable. After performing with Crowded House at the 2025 race, he returned with reunited art-rock band Split Enz. Before their opening-night set at the Wharf stage in Zone 1, he wished the drivers and teams luck—and urged them to stay safe.
October in Singapore is hot and humid. This year, haze from bushfires in neighboring Indonesia added another concern, with reports warning that poor visibility and air quality could lead to restrictions on entertainment. In the end, the weather disrupted schedules but not the program: rain fell ahead of the Sprint Race on Saturday, Oct. 10, prompting changes to later stage times. Organizers say the event went ahead as planned.
The race weekend occupies central Singapore, within walking distance of about 25,000 hotel beds. International visitors make up half of its roughly 100,000-person daily attendance. The published total for the 2026 Grand Prix was 301,294 spectators, the second highest in the event’s history and its strongest since the Marina Bay Street Circuit layout changed in 2023. Only 2022 drew more, with 302,000. Kim Kardashian was among the visitors, there to support her boyfriend, Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton.
A festival built around the race
WME’s Brett Murrihy says colleagues call the event the “Coachella of Asia.” His agency brought as many as 12 clients to this year’s Singapore GP, where the racing is the main attraction but the concerts give the event a broader entertainment identity. Murrihy argues that no other Asian festival has comparable buying power or influence.
Singapore GP booked and curated 43 acts for 2026, following a 2025 lineup that included Elton John, Foo Fighters, Lewis Capaldi, The Smashing Pumpkins, Alan Walker and G-Dragon. Executive director Adam Firth says the aim is to give racegoers value for money and keep them entertained when F1 is off the track. His team spends the year choosing artists for a crowd that might include both a teenage Singaporean fan and a middle-aged motorsport visitor from Europe.
*Brandon Flowers of The Killers looks into the crowd at the 2026 Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix. Singapore GP Pte Ltd*
This year’s mix spanned regional stars CORTIS and JJ Lin; American rock acts The Killers and Goo Goo Dolls; Janet Jackson; Zara Larsson and James Arthur; DJs; and performers from Australia and New Zealand. Lana Del Rey closed the event with a headline set.
For the first time, organizers put the Barge stage on the water. Its back-to-back performers included DJ Snake, Major Lazer Soundsystem, TOKiMONSTA, Rev Run, Flight Facilities, Mark Ronson and ZHU. After playing Amy Winehouse’s cover of “Valerie” and Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk,” Ronson told the crowd this was his favorite F1 and that people were right to call it the best.
Del Rey played the Padang Stage, the biggest venue, with room for 60,000 people. It was her first major concert in Singapore, and she debuted new music live while hinting at a return. [Billboard reported on her Singapore appearance and the possibility of another visit to Asia](https://www.billboard.com/music/concerts/f1-singapore-lana-del-rey-hints-another-visit-asia-1236360421/); [Del Rey’s artist page](https://www.billboard.com/artist/lana-del-rey/) has more on her work.
Murrihy says major international artists such as Del Rey and The Killers have treated the event as their only engagement in the market. That exclusivity, he argues, draws local audiences and strengthens fan interest across Asia. The business case is plausible, though the event’s figures alone don’t show how much of that regional momentum comes from the concerts versus the race.
Murrihy joined WME in 2015, after the agency acquired Artist Voice, which he co-founded with Matt Gudinski, now CEO of Mushroom Group. [WME’s acquisition of Artist Voice](https://pmc-billboard.go-vip.net/articles/news/6531732/exclusive-wme-img-acquires-australian-booking-agency-artist-voice) and [Murrihy’s joint venture with Mushroom](https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/australian-agent-launches-jv-with-mushroom-1202737/) reflect the ties between the agency and Australia’s music business.
He says touring across Asia has expanded over the past decade. Bruno Mars, Dua Lipa, Coldplay, The Weeknd and Olivia Rodrigo now regularly include the region in their schedules, sometimes with multiple city and stadium dates. Taylor Swift played six shows at Singapore’s National Stadium in March 2024—her only dates in the region. This year, Singapore’s race weekend also ran opposite Austin City Limits’ 25th anniversary in Texas, a two-weekend festival that industry insiders say can support about 30 U.S. tour dates.
Murrihy points to Indonesia, India and the Philippines as especially important growth markets, describing Asia as an increasingly valuable part of the global live music business. The Singapore GP offers one visible measure of that appeal, but it also benefits from a distinctive combination: a major sporting event, a central city location and a bill that can secure artists’ exclusive appearances.
*Lana Del Rey performs at the Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2026. Singapore GP Pte Ltd*
The event depends on government coordination
Firth says the Singapore government’s involvement is essential. Speaking at [All That Matters 2026](https://www.allthatmatters.asia/agenda/session/1967076), a multi-stream conference held at the Hilton Singapore Orchard ahead of the race, he described an event that requires coordination across police, transport, environmental and customs agencies. Building and dismantling the circuit takes nine months, and, as he put it, almost no agency is untouched.
A 2022 rain delay showed what that coordination can do. After a late-night conversation with a government minister on Sunday, organizers secured an extension of train service until about 1:30 a.m., more than an hour longer than scheduled. The extra time let the event continue without cutting entertainment.
Streaming remains an open question. Firth says he has considered it, but Formula 1 controls the television rights, so any broadcast would require discussions with the series and the artists. Singapore GP’s current priority is bringing visitors into the city and building an audience at the circuit. Still, Firth sees the brand-building value: livestreams have helped other major festivals keep fans engaged beyond the venue.
After some downtime, his team will start planning next year’s event. Firth says the goals are straightforward: keep people safe, give fans a good experience and improve on the previous edition. The hard part is managing everything the organizers can’t control.
*Lana Del Rey fans gather at the 2026 Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix. Singapore GP Pte Ltd*
