The International Champions Cup (ICC) is an annual summer tournament that has since 2013 brought big-name clubs to play each other in North America, Europe, Australia and China. Now, in 2017, the tournament is expanding to Southeast Asia and Singapore has signed on as host venue for the next four years to 2020.
Taking place at the National Stadium from 25 to 29 July, the ICC Singapore will see English Premier League side Chelsea, current Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich and Serie A club Inter Milan play a round-robin three match tournament. Tickets are available at https://www.sportshub.com.sg, the Sports Hub Box Office and Singapore Post outlets, starting from S$40 adult and S$25 child.
The action kicks off on Tuesday the 25th with Chelsea taking on Bayern Munich. On Thursday the 27th Bayern Munich squares off against Inter Milan and on Saturday the 29th Chelsea plays Inter Milan.
The Singapore Tourism Board, which signed a four year partnership with Catalyst Media Group to anchor the ICC in Singapore as the exclusive host country in Southeast Asia, is hoping the event will attract football fans from around the region, where the game is immensely popular.
As venue for the ICC Singapore, the 55,000-seat National Stadium at the Singapore Sports Hub is located in the heart of the city. For tourists an easy way of getting to the stadium from their hotel accommodation in Singapore is on the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) railway system. The nearest MRT stop is Stadium station on the Circle Line which exits directly into the Singapore Sports Hub while Mountbatten station, also on the Circle Line, and Kallang station on the East West Line are both around 600 m walk from the Singapore Sports Hub.
Staying at any of the numerous hotels in Singapore near MRT stations makes sense for any visitor wanting to travel around a lot and take in the destination's various attractions. These include some of the best design-led lifestyle and boutique hotels in Singapore.
A relatively new lifestyle hotel in Singapore, having opened in November 2016, is Hotel G Singapore in the central city area. This 308-room design-led property on Middle Road is a short walk from two MRT stations – Bugis and Dhoby Ghaut – and also enjoys the distinction of being a hotel near Orchard Road and Bugis Street shopping areas. The famed Marina Bay and various other tourist attractions are nearby, as is the National Stadium.
Hotel G Singapore brings to the Lion City the Hotels G lifestyle hotel brand of management company GCP Hospitality. Guests staying here – whether tourist on holiday, business executive in town for meetings or soccer fan – can choose from four categories of guestroom which are labelled G Mini, Good, Great and Greater, while facilities are the Ginett Restaurant & Wine Bar, 25 Degrees burger and liquor bar and a fitness centre.
The Singapore lifestyle hotel joins other Hotels G properties in Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Pattaya, Yangon and San Francisco. These are hotels and resorts aimed at savvy and design conscious travellers who seek a lifestyle-oriented accommodation experience characterized by sophisticated, cozy and stylish guestrooms, cutting-edge dining outlets and world-class facilities.
Martin Wynn
