In the air-conditioned Main Studio of Glow Festival by Prudential 2024, rows of Lululemon yoga mats filled the room, appearing as if they were part of a luxurious wellness resort. With Marina Bay as a backdrop, the space featured a huge high-definition LED screen wall measuring 4m x 7.5m, which displayed beautiful vistas from the natural world that were tailored to each workout session.
The festival has come a long way since its debut in 2019, when I remember doing downward-facing dogs on the mat I brought along to the grassy Palawan Green, Sentosa. That first year recorded a sell-out crowd of 15,500 attendees.
Founded by sports marketing veteran Martin Capstick, the popular wellness event has seen ups and downs. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic that hit in 2020, it was cancelled from 2020 to 2022, and it only returned last year at the Marina Bay Sands Expo Hall.
“Glow Festival 2023 was a very different set-up from its 2019 predecessor as we had just stepped out from the shadows of the pandemic. We worked with limited space and multiple restrictions due to post-Covid considerations. Despite this, the event still saw a turnout of 11,000 attendees,” he shares.
Capstick’s passion for sports and music fuels Glow Festival. He wants it to have a meaningful and sustainable social purpose. “We champion the message of caring for our mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Hopefully, we will inspire people from all walks of life to pursue wellness through a holistic approach and live their best lives,” he says.
In its third edition this year, Glow Festival by Prudential took place at the Marina Bay Sands Event Plaza. Themed Wellness Awakening, it offered over 70 workshops and classes, as well as six wellness zones catering to wellness enthusiasts in Singapore.
Participants enjoyed classes by notable celebrity coaches and Lululemon ambassadors, including Akin Akman, co-founder of AARMY, and Dr Chelsea Jackson Roberts, an internationally acclaimed Peloton yoga teacher.
For the first time this year, the festival also offered a fully equipped Recovery Space. It encouraged participants to relax and unwind after an intense workout, allowing them to practise mindfulness and enjoy muscle recovery. Highlights included ice baths by Theta Collective, muscle stress relief with Therabody equipment, as well as Almora Botanica’s face and fitness yoga bar.
With Glow Festival, Capstick hopes to create a space for friends and loved ones to enjoy the experiences together. “Forging human connections is central to the idea of holistic well-being. It has been proven to have profound and lasting effects on our overall health and quality of life.”
