Asia Sentinel: Asia's biggest gay circuit party takes a final bow (Oct 30)

Dinah Gardner

30 October 2006

Asia’s biggest gay circuit party takes a final bow “Fundoshi are still used as traditional sports underwear; like a Jock strap the rokushaku fundoshi is tight on the scrotum and lifts the penis to the side upwards positions.” - Wikipedia The Japanese dancer at the Phuket Hilton wasn’t getting much scrotal support from his fundoshi. He had teased them down over his buttocks, and, back to the crowd, was wiggling his well-shaped rear. The audience of semi-naked men roared their approval. A girl reached up and tucked 100 baht into his loincloth. The dancer and his white fundoshi were part of the show at Nation, Asia's biggest gay circuit party, now in its sixth and final year. Gay men and women from all over the world, but mostly from Asia, paid $180 for a three-day pass to dance to international DJ's, party around the pool and watch Japanese go-go boys and drag shows at the luxury hotel. The organizers even hired a flagger, a man in shiny tights and a handlebar moustache, who made a whirling dervish of color around his head by spinning tie-dyed cloth hemmed with glow sticks through a laser show backdrop. “The venue is great; the DJ's are fantastic,” says Stuart Koe, the Singaporean founder and chief executive officer of Fridae, the party organizer. The Singapore-based firm also runs Asia’s largest gay web portal at fridae.com and two other annual gay circuit parties – Snowball and Squirt. All of this outrageousness seems decidedly un-Singaporean but Koe started Nation six years ago because he thought it would be “cheeky to call it Nation and have this big gay party on the eve of Singapore’s national day. It was all about being cheeky.” The first party was held in a warehouse in Sentosa in Singapore and attracted more than 1,000 partygoers. “We made it into something that outgrew all our expectations,” he adds. “At its peak in 2004, we had 8,000 people partying in Sentosa.” After four years in Singapore, Koe was forced to relocate after the government of then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong began refusing the organization permission to hold their parties on the island. The government's move was seen as an end to its relatively liberal policy towards gays. For four years previously it had appeared to be courting the pink dollar. The official line for the nanny state ban was that large gay parties were against the public interest. So in 2005, Koe moved the party to Phuket, Thailand, where there is greater tolerance to homosexuality. But now, Koe says, this is it. “We have limited resources and we can't afford to commit this level of human resources to organizing big events anymore,” he says. For good bye it was a swirl, flirty and flamboyant. At the welcome Military Ball, party men clubbed in army fatigues. A group slung leather holsters across their bared chests, another donned a gas mask. One man sported a t-shirt which invited the reader to “enjoy the extra inches”; tattoos were definitely in. Other nights, partygoers covered themselves in gold leaf or twined themselves in light sticks, while the majority just took their shirts off. One clubber partied in his wheelchair. Headline acts included New York DJ Tony Moran – currently producing and mixing for Janet Jackson and Deborah Cox -- lesbian DJ Kate Monroe from Australia and artists from London, Taiwan and Japan. “Saturday night was fabulous. Tony Moran is a miracle,” says James, a Taiwanese thirty-something who would only give his first name. “I don't come here just to party, but also to show support and hang out with my friends,” adds James, who is a regular at Fridae-hosted parties. This year, he notes, there are definitely more Caucasians. “Nation is the biggest single gay event in Asia, and so of course all those Caucasians come here to find Asian boys.” Londoner Marck Hill says he bought his Nation ticket because he had so much fun at a similar event last December in Taipei. It wasn’t so much to do with the pursuit of Asian boys, he insists. “We spent the afternoon having botox and now we’re here to party,” he laughs, adding that at 38 he’s already a grandfather. “I’m here for the hot men,” winks his American friend, who wouldn’t give his name as he eyed a Thai boy in tight, tiny shorts and a sailor cap mincing by. “Is it a man? Is it a woman?” the man laughs. “We want real men.” This year, says Koe, between 1,500 and 2,000 people partied at Nation. Last year’s event attracted 2,000 revelers. This year the numbers also got a boost from W@Nation, a concurrent event with sponsored Singapore-based lesbian party organizer Twoqueensparty. The 50-odd girls – mainly from the Island nation – got to party with the boys and have their own events, including girls-only pool parties. Says Twoqueensparty founder Irene Ang: “We have the same vision for gays and lesbians. We want to create a space, a family for gays and lesbians to get together and be themselves.” But why so few women? The question elicits responses that underscore differing cultures at play. “You girls just want to shack up together and raise cats,” laughs Hill. “Guys want to go out and party. Girls want to stay home and cook and knit.” “Our parties are driven by men wanting to meet men,” says Koe. “It’s not just for sex, but when you get down to it, it is driven by that. Women like to socialize – say with dinner parties with their close-knit friends. They are more laidback, there’s more depth to their friendships. Men are more hedonistic.” Although their numbers were small and despite a possible tendency to stay home and knit, the girls clubbed as hard as the guys, dancing and stripping down to their bras. Looking back on Nation, Koe is satisfied that something a bit more than just fun and cruising has been accomplished. “Our mission is to empower gay Asia. We want gays to feel good about themselves. To not have any self doubt, to feel like they belong. In some ways our parties are preaching to the already converted. The crowd that come are a niche group (from within the gay community),” says Koe, who is also active on AIDs issues and is a consultant on HIV for both the Hong Kong and Singapore governments. “I think we can reach more people by doing our website and advocacy work behind the scenes.” If this really is the last of Nation it will likely mark an end – at least for a while – to large scale gay circuit parties in Asia. Although there are several party organizers around they are likely too localized to take over from Nation. Gay circuit parties are big business, particularly in the States, and it takes a big organization to pull one off. Back at the Hilton, meanwhile, gay men stroll around the resort hand in hand or tug at each other's shorts. The thump of house music reverberates around the elegant resort while regular holidaymakers look a little bemused at what they have stumbled into. “I feel sorry for the families," grins James. "They come here expecting a nice quiet holiday and they go to the pool with their kids and it's full of semi-naked muscle men. “On the other hand it's a great chance to educate your kids, show them what being gay is in a really friendly atmosphere… For once straight people are in the unusual position of being in the minority. And look, all the gays are very accepting!”

SMH: Thailand wins as Singapore's brief gay fling grinds to a halt

Thailand wins as Singapore's brief gay fling grinds to a halt

by Connie Levett Correspondent in Bangkok
When South-East Asia's largest gay party, Nation '05, kicks off today in Phuket, Thailand, it will officially mark the end of Singapore's flirtation with the pink dollar.

For four years, Singapore dallied with a more liberal policy towards gay lifestyles, warmed by the money that flowed from it and emboldened by research that showed cities with an active gay community were more creative, productive societies. However, the rise of the new Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, has been accompanied by a waning of government support for the gay population.

" The Prime Minister, in his own words, has said the gay community should not oppress others in Singapore," said Nation '05's organiser, Stuart Koe, a Singaporean who runs South-East Asia's largest gay web portal, Fridae.com. " The Government decided it didn't want gay parties in Singapore. They said it was contrary to the conservative mainstream and there would be a number of people who would find something like that very offensive."

The Prime Minister made the comments to Singapore's Foreign Correspondents Association on October 6. "We were surprised they would take such a strong stand," Mr Koe said. "The party had been held without incident and has been an economic success." In the years after 2001, the Nation party on Singapore's Sentosa island grew from a small gathering to a dance party attracting up to 8000 guests and generating $A8 million for the Singapore economy.

The first inkling of change came when organisers were refused a licence to host a smaller Christmas party last December.
" It seems to be coming right from the top," Mr Koe said. " There seems to be a media gag order on any gay issues in the newspapers. Letters are no longer getting into the press. Before, it had been a topic of discussion."

Mr Koe said there would be strong negative repercussions for Singapore. "One very tangible consequence was Warwick University in the UK [which] was recently granted a licence to set up a campus in Singapore but the faculty and students voted not to," Mr Koe said. "One of the reasons cited was Singapore's stance against the gay community. They felt there was no freedom of speech.
" The Prime Minister said it was not homophobia, but they had to be sensitive to people who find gay people offensive." Singapore's loss has been Thailand's gain. "Singapore has a ways to go in maturing as a society, where Thailand has a long history culturally [of accepting gay lifestyles]," he said.

Phuket will host the three-day party, from today to Sunday, at eight venues with DJs and artists from the US, Thailand, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand and Hong Kong. " It will be smaller, cozier - 1000 to 1500 people - because there is no domestic Singapore crowd," Mr Koe said. "Everyone is a tourist, but we are sold out."

The Advocate: Singapore stops singing gay tune (Aug 30)

Singapore stops singing gay tune

Southeast Asia's rising gay scene was dealt a major blow when Singapore authorities rejected what was to be the fifth annual gay and lesbian party in the city-state. The three-day Nation party, organized by Asia's largest gay and lesbian network, Fridae.com, was originally scheduled to coincide with the country's National Day in August, but Singapore authorities turned down the license, saying the event is "contrary to public interest." The circuit-type event, which attracted over 8,000 revelers to Singapore last year, will now be held in Phuket, Thailand, November 4-6. "The Nation party is evolving with the circumstances, and we hope for it to be truly an event where gays and lesbians from all over the world can come together and celebrate their diversity and take pride in their community." says Stuart Koe, CEO of Fridae.com.

AU.GAY.COM: Nation Party moved to November 4-6 in Phuket, Thailand--Asia's largest gay party announces new venue and dates

Asia's largest gay and lesbian network, Fridae.com, will hold its signature Nation party -- dubbed a "festival of international proportions" by Time Asia -- in Phuket, Thailand from November 4th through 6th, 2005.

Singapore authorities in April rejected an application to hold Nation, Asia's most acclaimed gay and lesbian party, which had been held annually since 2001 in the city-state to celebrate the country's National Day in August. In a faxed reply, the Singapore police turned down the license citing the event to be "contrary to public interest."

Fridae regrets the Licensing Division's rejection of Nation's license. "We are disappointed that the authorities have deemed a National Day celebration by Singapore's gay citizens as being 'contrary to public interest' when it had previously been approved for four years without incident," said Dr Stuart Koe, Chief Executive Officer. "This is a direct contradiction to previous calls for embracing of diversity."

Despite the Singapore government's attempt to curtail the public space enjoyed by gay Singaporeans and residents, organizers hope for the international gay and lesbian community to come together in creating a new "Nation" -- free from discrimination and welcoming of all.

"The Nation party is evolving with the circumstances," said Dr Koe, "and we hope for it to be truly an event where gays and lesbians from all over the world can come together and celebrate their diversity and take pride in their community." For the first time, the three day event will see gay party organizers from four Asian cities (Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei and Tokyo) involved in co-hosting eight parties to be held back to back over the weekend.

The last Nation party held in Singapore in August 2004 attracted an attendance of over 8,000 party revelers, of which 40 percent were international visitors. Tourist revenue generated over the three-day event was estimated to be close to US$6 million, based on unreleased data collected by an independent market research company at Nation in 2003.

Since 2001, the Nation parties had grown tremendously and garnered international media attention with extensive coverage by news agencies and leading publications including The Wall Street Journal, Far Eastern Economic Review, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Advocate, Time magazine and BBC radio.

Nation V is sponsored by Fortune 100 global communications leader Motorola for the second consecutive year and Subaru for the third. The carmaker is a well-known pioneer corporate sponsor of gay and lesbian athletic and community events in the United States and is represented by Motor Image in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and the Philippines.
" We are very disappointed that the government is sending a very strong signal that a big minority of its population is not welcomed. That is very homophobic," Koe told Reuters.

Singapore's gay community has only recently enjoyed greater freedom after former premier Goh Chok Tong announced in 2003 that homosexuals could hold key positions in the civil service without fear of discrimination. But the gay community has come under fire in recent months after a junior health minister in Singapore said a gay and lesbian festival in August last year may have led to a surge in the number of local AIDS cases, a remark that outraged gay activists.

Although Singapore has one of Asia's lowest levels of HIV infection, the number of new infections hit a record high of 311 cases in 2004, up 28 percent from 2003. A third of the newly diagnosed cases were gay men, the health ministry has said. Gay activists say the remaining two-thirds appeared to be heterosexual men who caught the illness from prostitutes in nearby Southeast Asian countries, such as Indonesia's Batam island, which is just an hour's boat ride from Singapore.

In March, the government rejected an application for an AIDS concert, citing concern over its gay performers. In December 2004, police threw out plans by gay activists to hold a Christmas dance party, saying the event went against the "moral values" of a large majority of Singaporeans.

AFP: Gay festival may be behind HIV surge in Singapore: Minister

Wed Mar 9, 7:05 AM ET

SINGAPORE (AFP) - One of Asia's most popular gay and lesbian festivals may be behind a sharp rise in the number of new HIV infections in Singapore, a government minister told parliament.

Senior Minister of State for Health, Balaji Sadasivan, cited an unnamed medical expert's opinion that the Nation festival, which attracts thousands of revellers from around the region each August, is a possible cause for the rise.

"We do not know the reasons for the sharp increase of HIV in the gay community," Balaji said, as quoted by local radio station NewsRadio 93.8.

"An epidemiologist has suggested that this may be linked to the annual predominantly gay party in Sentosa, the Nation party, which allows gays from high prevalence societies to fraternise with local gay men, seeding the infection in the local community.

"However, this is an hypothesis and more research needs to be done by the experts."

Balaji told parliament that a record 311 people in Singapore had contracted HIV last year, 28 percent more than in 2003.

He said 90 percent of the people who contracted the virus last year were men, with a third of them gay.

There are now more than 2,000 HIV or AIDS confirmed patients in Singapore.

Fridae.com, which bills itself as Asia's largest website for gays, has hosted the increasingly popular Nation festival on the Sentosa resort island since 2001. More than 8,000 people attended last year's edition.

Fridae.com chief executive Stuart Koe reacted angrily to Balaji's comments. He said they would fuel homophobia in Singapore and he blamed inaction by the government as the main driver of the increase in HIV among gays.

"The government has failed to address the issue of MSMs (men having sex with men) in any of their public health campaigns," Koe told AFP, adding that the prohibition on homosexual acts in Singapore was also a major problem.

"Because gay sex is illegal, many of the public health agencies in Singapore aren't even available to work with MSM groups."

"These statements serve to fuel homophobia and discrimination in this country."

The government's hands-off approach to the Nation festival had helped build Singapore's reputation over recent years as one of Asia's premier gay tourism hubs, despite gay acts being illegal.

However, the government late last year signalled it was rethinking its stance on gay parties when it banned Fridae.com's planned all-night "Snowball.04" party that was scheduled to start on Christmas Day.

It cited incidents at the Nation parties for its banning of the Christmas event, which it said would be "against the moral values" of most Singaporeans.

Among measures to fight AIDS, Balaji said over-the-counter test kits that require only saliva samples may be made available, while the government was also considering making HIV testing for pregnant mothers compulsory.

Singapore not to allow all-gay public parties

Singapore not to allow all-gay public parties

December 21, 2004

Singapore's government is not prepared to allow all-gay public parties despite greater acceptance of homosexuals in society, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in remarks published.

Revellers at Singapore's Nation Party in August 2004, billed as Asia's largest gay and lesbian festival. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said his government was not prepared to allow all-gay public parties despite greater acceptance of homosexuals in society. [AFP]

Authorities had to turn down an application by Fridae.com, said to be Asia's largest website for gays, to hold an all-night "Snowball.04 party" on December 25 because "the event is likely to be organised as a gay party which is contrary to public interest," Lee was quoted as saying in the Straits Times. Previous Snowball parties held in 2003 and 2002 were targeted at gays even though the government, when it gave the go-ahead, sought assurances from organisers that the wider community would be included, Lee said. "We allowed it and we made it quite clear that it had to be a party which was not targeted at gays alone...

As the party turned out, our sense of it was that it was beyond what we were prepared to accept. "So we said no." An annual all-night dance party on the resort island Sentosa every August coinciding with Singapore's National Day, organised also by Fridae.com, draws thousands of gays from the region but is open to everyone. The Sentosa parties have led to Singapore being recognised as one of Asia's premier gay tourism hubs and the government has also taken a more tolerant approach to the gay community, even though homosexual acts are still outlawed.

Under laws dating back to British colonial days and never applied in modern times, anyone found guilty of voluntarily engaging in "unnatural" sexual acts such as sodomy can be sentenced to life imprisonment in Singapore. "I think it's a matter of balance... of how we can have space for this group of people who are gays, whom we accept as Singaporeans," Lee said. "But at the same time, it's about respecting the outlook, values and perspective of the majority of Singaporeans, who know Singapore to be a certain way and do not want to see it changing suddenly, and I think they have a point," he said.

AFP: Thai group launches bid to stop Singapore from snatching its pink dollars

Thai group launches bid to stop Singapore from snatching its pink dollars

Bangkok– Thailand's gay community has launched a political lobby group to try and stop the kingdom's title as Asia's pink tourism capital being snatched by Singapore. Thailand boasts Asia's largest annual Mardi-Gras festival, as well as the most vibrant and open gay club scene and annual gay beauty pageant.

However, wedged between conservative Malaysia and Indonesia, Singapore has been forging a reputation as the new Asian hot spot for gay holiday-makers. The island state has experienced a boom in gay clubs following a change in attitude towards the pink dollar in the late 1990s.

Ms Munthana Adisayathepkul, the head of Thailand's leading lesbian group and a key member of the Homosexual Political Group of Thailand (HPGT), said Singapore had become a dangerous competitor to Thailand. "Singapore is trying to make itself the centre of gays and lesbians in Asia … and we are trying to get the government to support us fight this shift," she said.
Prominent Thai gay activist, Mr Natee Teerarojjanapongs – the first openly gay Thai to run for a senate seat – said government support would be crucial if Thailand is to remain as Asia's key holiday destination for homosexuals.

"If we want to be a gay paradise, the government has to support gay groups as it will draw a lot of tourists and income to the country," he said. Mr Natee also said it is the kingdom's fundamental atmosphere of tolerance, not just mega-events, which still sets it apart from other Asian destinations. "Even though they (Singapore) have strong laws they want to trade on the success that comes with staging a famous gay parade," he said.

The bars and cafes in Bangkok's bustling and neon-lit gay entertainment area are packed with tourists enjoying the city's unbridled gay night life, but operators say they are far from complacent."It is possible that Singapore will be the next gay capital as it is more open to gays," said Mr Panuwat Jaykong, the manager of Telephone, one of Bangkok's best known bars.
"The number of Singaporean and Hong Kong visitors has fallen by 20 to 30 per cent over the past few months after the Thai government said it did not support gays' activities," he said.

A spokesman for Asia's largest and oldest gay holiday firm, Utopia Tours, also said it was the lack of government support rather than the allure of Singapore that is the main threat to the industry. But the head of Bangkok's gay festival, Mr Pakorn Pimton, rejected the need for official support. "They do not have to support us – just don't ban us," he said. "Singapore as Asia's gay capital? Forget it. Their parade and other activities are still far behind Thailand," he said.