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Mark The Lunar New Year At The Istana Open House
The Istana Open House (IOH) will be held on Sunday, 22 February 2026, from 8.30am to 6.00pm, to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Members of the public can enjoy a festive day filled with live performances, participate in activity booths – including interacting with horses from EQUAL – and explore the heritage of the Istana.
Performances and Activity Booths
In this Year of the Horse, visitors can enjoy a meet-and-greet with horses from the EQUAL herd, gain insights into equine communication, and learn more about equine-assisted learning. Visitors can also participate in hands-on creative activities such as water marbling, craft workshops, and reed diffuser making.
The programme will also feature live musical, choral, and cultural performances, with renditions of well-loved Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil classics. Highlights include lion dance, wushu, angklung and kulintang performances. Traditional instruments such as the zhongruan, dizi, guzheng, erhu, tabla, and Indian classical violin will also be showcased, alongside a philharmonic orchestra presentation.
Performances will be presented by De La Salle School, Four Dimensions, Jurongville Secondary School, LASALLE College of the Arts, University of the Arts Singapore, MacPherson Philharmonic Orchestra, NUS Lion Dance, The TENG Company, Voices of Singapore Children’s Choir, and Yuan Ching Secondary School.
PROGRAMME FOR LUNAR NEW YEAR ISTANA OPEN HOUSE
Performances (Main Tent)
Activity Booths (Main Tent Booth Area)
Visitors can look forward to activity booths for face painting, Chinese calligraphy, water marbling, balloon sculpting and reed diffuser making.
Visit activity and merchandise booths by social services agencies like SUN-DAC, Rainbow Centre, Playeum, and Allkin Singapore to learn more about their support and upliftment for beneficiaries.
All proceeds from the entry to the Istana grounds, Istana Heritage Tour and the State Gifts Display will go to benefitting organisations supported by the President’s Challenge. Proceeds from the social service agencies’ booths will go to the agencies themselves.
Istana Heritage Tour
Embark on a guided tour of the Istana grounds to explore its rich history, architectural heritage, and unique flora and fauna. The 1-hour walking tour begins at the Main Gate and features highlights such as the Villa, Japanese Garden, and Ceremonial Plaza.
Tours are conducted in English and Mandarin every hour from 9am to 4pm. Fees apply*, and all proceeds go to the benefitting organisations supported by the President’s Challenge.
*Fees for the Istana Heritage Tour are non-refundable and exclude the following admission fees:
(i) Admission fees required for entry into the Istana grounds during the Istana Open House and,
(ii) fees for entering the Istana Villa.
Sign up for the next Istana Heritage Tour now: here.
The Istana Open House (IOH) will be held on Sunday, 22 February 2026, from 8.30am to 6.00pm, to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Members of the public can enjoy a festive day filled with live performances, participate in activity booths – including interacting with horses from EQUAL – and explore the heritage of the Istana.
Performances and Activity Booths
In this Year of the Horse, visitors can enjoy a meet-and-greet with horses from the EQUAL herd, gain insights into equine communication, and learn more about equine-assisted learning. Visitors can also participate in hands-on creative activities such as water marbling, craft workshops, and reed diffuser making.
The programme will also feature live musical, choral, and cultural performances, with renditions of well-loved Chinese, English, Malay and Tamil classics. Highlights include lion dance, wushu, angklung and kulintang performances. Traditional instruments such as the zhongruan, dizi, guzheng, erhu, tabla, and Indian classical violin will also be showcased, alongside a philharmonic orchestra presentation.
Performances will be presented by De La Salle School, Four Dimensions, Jurongville Secondary School, LASALLE College of the Arts, University of the Arts Singapore, MacPherson Philharmonic Orchestra, NUS Lion Dance, The TENG Company, Voices of Singapore Children’s Choir, and Yuan Ching Secondary School.
PROGRAMME FOR LUNAR NEW YEAR ISTANA OPEN HOUSE
Performances (Main Tent)
| Time | Activity |
| 9.50am to 10.30am | Multicultural music performance by MacPherson Philharmonic Orchestra |
| 10.30am to 11.00am | Lion dance by Yuan Ching Secondary School |
| 11.05am to 11.50pm | Multilingual choral performance by Voices of Singapore Children’s Choir |
| 12.00pm to 12.20pm | Wushu performance by De La Salle School |
| 2.30pm to 1.20pm | Chinese classical music performance by scholars of Mapletree – The TENG Company |
| 1.35pm to 2.10pm | Live vocal band performance by LASALLE College of the Arts, University of the Arts Singapore |
| 2.20pm to 3.00pm | Angklung and kulintang performance by Jurongville Secondary School |
| 3.10pm to 4.00pm | Indian-Chinese musical performance by Four Dimensions |
| 4.00pm to 4.30pm | ‘Cai Qing’ lion dance by National University of Singapore |
Visitors can look forward to activity booths for face painting, Chinese calligraphy, water marbling, balloon sculpting and reed diffuser making.
Visit activity and merchandise booths by social services agencies like SUN-DAC, Rainbow Centre, Playeum, and Allkin Singapore to learn more about their support and upliftment for beneficiaries.
All proceeds from the entry to the Istana grounds, Istana Heritage Tour and the State Gifts Display will go to benefitting organisations supported by the President’s Challenge. Proceeds from the social service agencies’ booths will go to the agencies themselves.
Istana Heritage Tour
Embark on a guided tour of the Istana grounds to explore its rich history, architectural heritage, and unique flora and fauna. The 1-hour walking tour begins at the Main Gate and features highlights such as the Villa, Japanese Garden, and Ceremonial Plaza.
Tours are conducted in English and Mandarin every hour from 9am to 4pm. Fees apply*, and all proceeds go to the benefitting organisations supported by the President’s Challenge.
*Fees for the Istana Heritage Tour are non-refundable and exclude the following admission fees:
(i) Admission fees required for entry into the Istana grounds during the Istana Open House and,
(ii) fees for entering the Istana Villa.
Sign up for the next Istana Heritage Tour now: here.
