With unique combination of ethnic groups Singapore has achieved a considerable degree of cultural diffusion that led to Singapore’s rich mixture of diversity for its young generation. Some good examples of this are - the English language is primarily British English with a little influence of American English; colloquial dialect of English known as Singlish that has many Creole-like characteristics due to the incorporation of various language and grammar from Chinese, Indian and Malay languages; and the Singaporean cuisine, that is highly influenced by Chinese, Indian, Indonesian and Malaysian delicacies.

The number of ethnic neighborhoods in Singapore such as Chinatown and Little Indian that were created under the Raffles Plan to segregate the new immigrants into ethnic ghettoes. Though segregation of ethnicity does no longer exist each culture was able to retain selective elements of their specific culture, thus resulting to diverse patronage to some elements of a particular culture.

Festivals

With Singapore’s multi-cultural nature, every ethnic group in the country celebrates its own festivals. Throughout the year celebration of some form or other brings visual feast of color, spectacle, and ceremony that being acknowledged and enjoyed by the whole community of Singapore. Some of the well celebrated festivals of the country include Festival of Lights (Deepvali), Buddhist celebration of Vesak Day, Chinese New Year celebration and Christmas.

Performing Arts

The local art scene of the country still remains handicapped despite the attempt of the recent government to promote the country as a cultural center for arts and culture; this is due to the strict legislation. All scripts to be performed in Singapore must be evaluated in advance by the Public Entertainment Licensing Unit (PELU). PELU has the sole right to allow or ban any script it views.

By year 2000, the legislation has been loosening some restriction and this led to the emergence of several performing art groups. Some of the prominent local arts groups include TheatreWorks, Singapore Repertory Theater, Singapore Dance Theater, Singapore Chinese Opera, Orkestra Melayu Singapura, Singapore Indian Orchestra and Choir and The Singapore Lyric Opera. Singapore Arts Festival is held annually. The festival serves as a gathering of international and local artist performing in a wide variety of events including music, dance and theater.

Now Singapore as a gateway between East and West, offers unique opportunities to people who wish to enhance their artistic skills in the field of theater and music. Professional and amateur theater companies, dance troupes, musical groups and opera companies offer a wide range of Asian as well as Western performance.