Sports aside, F1 is a marketing event

There is no such thing as free publicity, especially not when it comes to Formula One. Staging the world's richest travelling circus has not come cheap to Singapore, but as the helicopter-mounted camera gave countless millions of television viewers another panoramic glimpse of the city's skyline at last month's historic race, I imagine the organisers think it was money well spent.

That money - S$150m (Dh367m) to be precise - is certainly considered money well spent, especially as it is part of a very deliberate strategy to give the island state an advantage in the global battle for tourists.

With Abu Dhabi unveiling its firm plans for its debut race in November 2009, is there anything we could learn from another first-timer like Singapore?

Well, a lot depends on what the primary objective of the race is. Unashamedly, Singapore admits that the cache of bringing Hamilton and company to town was more about marketing than it was about the sport.

Although with Mohammad Bin Sulayem involved in the UAE-based race there will be a much larger emphasis on the pure sport aspect, Singapore and the UAE really do have a lot in common when it comes to these type of events.

But Mohammad Rostam Omar, director of communications at the Singapore Tourism Board, is clear about what their goal was: "It is not about motorsport. Our mandate is that we are looking at the event from a tourism point of view. The reason we wanted Formula One was to boost tourism," he said.

International exposure

Now such a statement probably isn't that shocking inside the offices of many Formula One organisers, but it certainly is a bold one to make in public.

"We view Formula One as a lifestyle event first and foremost, motorsport was not a key factor... It put Singapore in the global spotlight, and you can't put a dollar value on that," he added.

From that point of view you cannot argue with the strategy.

Priceless exposure was gained as more than 600 journalists descended on Singapore, waxing lyrical about the city and the event.

Countless hours of pleasing television footage showcased the city perfectly, not least as the gleaming and glamorous cars roared through the streets of Singapore's Marina Bay street circuit, leaving ample opportunity for well placed shots of the cars juxtaposed with beautiful colonial architecture. And most importantly, more than 40,000 people flew into town, stayed in hotel rooms, ate in restaurants and shopped in Singapore malls during the Grand Prix week.

But to make the tourism side work, it takes work. A lot of work, and a lot of initial investment.

Sixty per cent of the cost of staging the race was met by the government, and with just 11 months from deal to real deal, the pressure was on to make it an event which worked.

So how did they do it?

Simple. First of all they looked and learned from visiting other circuits. After the learning stage, they realised they needed to engage the people who live in Singapore.

Even if the events they were attending had nothing to do with racing, they wanted people to get caught up in a festive atmosphere.

Free events, club nights, fashion shows, exclusive VIP parties, art exhibitions, the obligatory luxury watch shows.

The Singapore GP race season certainly made its presence felt around the town, mostly from a lifestyle and not a Formula One point of view.

But there were still gripes around the town. Businesses, who in theory could have leveraged heavily against the race, complained that traffic was down because the city centre was in lockdown.

Trackside malls were almost empty, and traders in tourist attractions slightly further afield grumbled that they had not been included at all. Organisers freely admit that they will make mistakes, but that their ears are always open.

"This is our first year, and it is a learning journey for us," said an organiser.

Organisers also said they tried to talk to community leaders, and tried to stage free events for the people as well as the high price premium shows for the jet-setters who flew in for the race.

This was particularly important in a city which did not and still does not have a motorsport heritage.

"It shouldn't be a case that this is only for the tourists though, there is a balance," said Omar.

"Year one was about infrastructure. We had to make sure things were working. We had to build the pit and think about the visitor experience as well as trying to figure out how we market the event globally to people," he said.

For a first effort it is not bad.

The government estimates it will claw back as much as S$100m from the first race.

Hotel bookings recovered from an initial stumble caused by overzealous hotels doubling and tripling their prices to post respectable figures.

From a tourist point of view though, the best news comes with the fact that team Singapore will probably start turning a profit next year, in only the second race. That will be music to the ears of any marketing man from team Abu Dhabi.