Singapore is the place for flower-lovers this year, says
Gillian Vine.
When the 20th World Orchid Conference (WOC) takes place in
Singapore in November, the eight-day event is expected to
draw at least 300,000 visitors, including members of the New
Zealand Orchid Society, who have been planning their trip for
months.
Scoring this year's WOC, which is held every three years, is
a coup for Singapore, the only Asian city to host the event a
second time - and it's been a long wait, as the last time was
48 years ago.
"We're trying to give it wider appeal to reach people other
than orchid enthusiasts," explains Terri Oh, of Singapore's
National Parks Board, which - with the Orchid Society of
South East Asia - is organising the WOC.
"Orchids are used in perfumes, medicines and food. Many
people don't realise vanilla comes from an orchid," she said.
Taking place at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention
Centre between November 13 and 20, the WOC promises a
spectacular array of orchid displays with the finest and
rarest species as well as exotic hybrids from around the
world, including a homegrown hybrid with a mouthful of a
name, Renanthera 20th WOC Singapore 2011.
As well as the opportunity to "ooh" and "aah" over the
world's best orchids, ticket holders can take a sneak preview
of Gardens by the Bay, a 100ha addition to the National Parks
Board's complex of green space. The first part of the
multimillion-dollar complex will officially open in June
2012.
"With our rich orchid heritage, it is apt for us to host the
20th World Orchid Conference, and we are one of the few
cities privileged to be able to host this iconic event for a
second time," organising committee chairman Kiat W. Tan said
at a July 15 press conference.
"Hosting our first WOC in 1963 proved to be a huge stimulus
for Singapore's economy and for the local orchid industry
then. Today, it is an opportunity for us not only to showcase
our rich orchid heritage and expertise, but also the best of
Singapore, including the Gardens by the Bay and other new
developments in the Marina Bay area," said Dr Tan, who is
also chief executive of Gardens by the Bay.
The World Orchid Show, the largest of its kind to be held in
Singapore, will feature about 50,000 orchid plants. For most
visitors, the displays will appeal to "what we call the
non-converted [with] so many colours, shapes and sizes", Ms
Oh says.
The displays of orchid species and hybrids by exhibitors from
23 countries have a more serious side, as the blooms will be
judged by a line-up of 200 international experts, who will
award top honours, accolades that carry significant weight in
the orchid world.
"Winning an award at a World Orchid Conference is recognition
that you are best of the best in the orchid world. This is
why the World Orchid Conference is known as the Olympics of
Orchids," said Dr Khoo Chong Yee, this year's chairman of
judging.
The formal part of the conference features lectures,
workshops and seminars by more than 130 orchid experts from
31 countries. Covering the latest trends, technology and
scientific discoveries in the orchid world, it is expected to
attract some 1000 delegates and, despite an emphasis on the
scientific, the organisers are promising enough to satisfy
hobby growers, too.
And it wouldn't be Singapore without a chance to go shopping:
at the WOC's marketplace visitors will be able to buy orchid
plants andorchid-related products.
National flower: the orchid
Singapore has long been associated with orchids and in 1981,
Vanda Miss Joaquim was chosen as the country's national
flower.
Singapore is believed to be the only nation in the world to
have chosen a hybrid as its national flower. But as the first
registered plant hybrid from Singapore, it was deemed most
appropriate.
A hybrid between Vanda hookeriana and Vanda
teres, Vanda Miss Joaquim was first described in 1893 by
the director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, Henry Ridley.
He named it after Agnes Joaquim, who discovered it in her
garden.
Ridley wrote that the plant was the result of a cross made by
Miss Joaquim but subsequent writers have suggested it was a
natural hybrid and she merely found it.
Since 1928, the botanic gardens have been an important
orchid-breeding centre, with new hybrids often named in
honour of visiting VIPs.
A selection of 3000 species and hybrids is on display
year-round at the National Orchid Garden in the Singapore
Botanic Gardens complex.
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