Farewell, Sentosa Merlion

The CATCH team took a trip to Sentosa in November to bid farewell to the towering statue that has always been the island’s beacon.

Written by: Nada Safiyee

The Sentosa Merlion has bade its last farewell. Built in 1995, Singapore’s largest Merlion stands tall at the heart of Sentosa. It always greeted visitors with its head peeking out of the island. We remember the iconic structure that used to shoot out lasers through its eyes as part of the former Magical Sentosa Show and how “creepy” it looked when lit up at night. 

The statue has been torn down to make way for new developments, including The Sentosa Sensoryscape and a link way between Sentosa and Pulau Brani. Visitors can look forward to the new attractions in 2022. The Sentosa Merlion however, is not making its way back to shores. The new plans for Sensoryscape does not intend on relocating the Merlion but to commemorate it instead. How? We do not know. The plan has not been revealed.

This marks a new change for Sentosa, a good one that is! We are coming to the beginning of a new decade and change is necessary in order to stay relevant and to keep up with the times. The attraction itself had not been receiving a lot of visitors through the years especially since the opening of Universal Studios Singapore.

As more attractions are being built, the old ones are left as background symbols of the past. The winds of change are blowing and we should be here to embrace it. Let’s not be here to mourn the going of the tall statue but to celebrate its past existence and for being the image of Sentosa for the past 24 years. 

Let us reminisce the past, celebrate the present and look forward to the future.