I WOULD like to congratulate the organisers of the Formula One night race for putting up a good show for the world.

Nevertheless, like most Singaporeans, I was not really swept up in the fanfare.

Most of my friends preferred to watch the English Premier League matches over the weekend rather than the F1 race.

For those not familiar with the sport, names such as Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton would not have rung a bell.

Maybe the organisers could do more in future to familiarise Singaporeans with the sport and the personalities involved.

The expensive tickets and lack of familiarity with F1 put me off before I even considered going to watch the race.

Prices for walkabout tickets, which were the cheapest, cost over $100. I also heard that there were tickets changing hands for three times their original price.

Seat tickets of a few thousand dollars are beyond the reach of most Singaporeans.

Most were content to watch the race at home or hear the engines' roar from shopping centres near the track.

As most of the spectators were wealthy foreigners, I wonder if the event was more for them than for Singaporeans.

Hotel room rates were doubled, at the least. Retailers were lured by the tourist dollars pouring in for this mammoth event, and tried all ways and means to draw them to their shops. Commercialism reared its ugly head, and only those who could pay top dollar got tickets for the event.

I hope that in future more tickets - either complimentary or discounted - could be set aside at such events for those who cannot afford to watch them.

Such sporting events should be made accessible to the masses instead of only the rich.

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