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.
