The following lists events that happened during 2021 in the Republic of Singapore.
Incumbents President: Halimah Yacob Prime Minister: Lee Hsien Loong
Events Events for the COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore have the "CP" prefix.
January 1 January The smoking age increases to 21. The Monetary Authority of Singapore stops producing the S$1,000 banknote, citing money laundering and terrorism financing risks. The Kuala Lumpur–Singapore high-speed rail project is terminated after no agreement on it was reached by 31 December 2020. 4 January – Singapore starts livestreaming Parliament sessions 9 January – Robinsons & Co. shuts its last outlet in Raffles City, ending 162 years of operation since 1858. 16 January – A review on gender equality issues is extended to the second half of 2021 due to strong interest from participants. 20 January – Two separate clusters of tuberculosis with 18 cases are traced to a Singapore Pools Bedok outlet, resulting in voluntary screening of patrons. 22 January – NTUC FairPrice opens a new supermarket under the FairPrice Xtra label at Parkway Parade. It is the first supermarket to have dedicated local produce sections, with two exclusive services being a spice-mixing counter and a cocktail bar. 23 January – Gali Batu Bus Terminal, located off Woodlands Road, is officially opened to the public. 28 January – SilkAir is officially merged into Singapore Airlines. 30 January – The Ministry of Social and Family Development declares 2021 the "Year of Celebrating SG Women" as part of an ongoing review.
February 1 February – The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment announces during a parliamentary motion the upcoming launch of a multi-ministry Singapore Green Plan as a whole-of-nation sustainability strategy. The carbon tax will also be reviewed in 2023, with an expected increase by 2030. The motion is later passed, declaring climate change a global emergency. 3 February – CP: The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is approved by the Health Sciences Authority for use as the second COVID-19 vaccine in Singapore with the first supplies expected in March. Moderna is also required to monitor efficacy of vaccine before full registration. 4 February – The Keppel Marina East Desalination Plant is officially opened as Singapore's fourth desalination plant. It is able to treat both sea and reservoir water, and also serves as a recreational facility. Plans are also announced to convert the former Bukit Timah Waterworks into a visitors' centre, with the Linggiu Reservoir revealed to reach healthy levels in a first since 2016. 8 February – The Digital for Life movement and fund is launched to get more Singaporeans equipped with digital skills and bridge the digital divide as part of the 2021 President's Challenge. 10 February – The Singapore Green Plan 2030 is released, setting new targets in five pillars to make Singapore environmentally-friendly. They include doubling electric vehicle chargers to 60,000 by 2030 and requiring new vehicles to be cleaner energy models, new standards for the Singapore Green Building Masterplan, 20 per cent waste reduction by 2026, having schools reduce their net carbon emissions by two-thirds by 2030 with at least 20 per cent of them carbon-neutral. Jurong Island will also be made a sustainable energy and chemicals park with Singapore being a sustainable tourism destination and a carbon services hub. A new Enterprise Sustainability Programme will be set up for companies, schools will have an Eco Stewardship Programme and Green Plan Conversations will be instituted to get ideas. 23 February – Disney+ launches in Singapore, being the first market to offer all six Disney content brands. 24 February – An explosion occurs at an industrial building in Tuas. 10 people, three of whom later die, suffer burns. 25 February – A review into the sentencing framework for hurt and sexual offences is completed, with a Ministerial Statement to be made soon.
March 5 March – Tougher measures are announced against hurt and sexual offences. They include increasing maximum jail terms for three offences; being three years for molestation and two years for sexual communication between minors aged 14 to 16 and 16 to 18, and objecting to rehabilitation for adult offenders unless in exceptional circumstances. A sentencing guide will be published to raise public awareness, with a Sentencing Advisory Panel set up to issue non-binding sentencing guidelines. 22 March – Businessman Ng Yu Zhi is charged with orchestrating the biggest investment fraud in the history of Singapore. 28 March – Coastal Playgrove (former Big Splash site), the largest playground with restaurants, is officially opened by Former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong at East Coast Park.
April 8 April – Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat steps aside from running as 4G leader owing to health concerns, challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and a short timeframe, with a new leader picked in due course. As a result, DPM Heng will step down from the Finance Ministry while continuing as DPM, with Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean assigned Acting Prime Minister in PM Lee's absence. A Cabinet change will take place two weeks later. 10 April – HometeamNS Clubhouse at Khatib is officially opened to the public and NSmen with bowling alleys, swimming pool, indoor shooting range, T-Play indoor playground, Adventure Hq. 20 April – NTP+ Mall at New Tech Park in Lorong Chuan, Singapore is officially opened. 23 April – A Cabinet reshuffle results in new leaders taking over seven Ministries, an unprecedented reshuffle less than a year in this Government term. 29 April – IKEA's smallest outlet in Singapore and Southeast Asia opens at the Jem shopping mall in Jurong East.
May 14 May – Tray return was announced to be mandatory at hawker centres from 1 June 2021 with enforcement to begin from 1 September 2021. 16 May – CP: Following an uptick of COVID-19 cases, Singapore reverts to stricter restrictions under the name "Phase 2 (Heightened Alert)". These restrictions are enforced until 13 June. 17 May – A wet market located in a small shopping centre in Sembawang catches fire. The cause of the fire is under investigation. 18 May – CP: Singaporeans aged 12 to 15 are now allowed to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. 19 May – CP: Due to an increase in school-based transmissions of COVID-19, all schools convert to full home-based learning until the end of the semester.
June 1 June A ban on partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) takes effect. The Protection from Harassment Court is established to hear cases under the Protection from Harassment Act (POHA) with court transfers allowed, save for the Family Justice Courts (at a later date). Enhanced protections under POHA also take effect. 2 June – CP: The CoronaVac vaccine is approved for use in Singapore through the special access route. 13 June – The Woodlands Integrated Transport Hub opens, becoming the largest such facility in Singapore. The Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange will continue operations to handle possible congestion. 25 June – Lego's largest certified store in Singapore and South-East Asia is opened at Resorts World Sentosa.
July 1 July – Plans are announced to redevelop Bedok Point into a mixed development with residential and commercial components, coming after low footfall at the mall. 3 July – Pasir Ris Reconfigured bus interchange is opened to replace the old Pasir Ris bus interchange. 5 July – CP: The Ministry of Health announces the commencement of its investigation into the cardiac arrest of a 16-year-old boy who had received his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine six days prior. 6 July – A debate ensues in Parliament over free trade agreements (FTAs) and to correct falsehoods that have spread, particularly around the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA). This comes after allegations by the Progress Singapore Party (PSP). The importance of globalisation to Singapore, as well as negotiating FTAs with safeguards and how to help professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) who struggle. Data on foreign workforce numbers and total workers, as well as strategies against discrimination were discussed. In response, PSP supports free trade agreements, but disagrees that CECA benefitted Singapore at that stage. 8 July – The new ESports Experience Centre at Kallang Wave Mall is officially opened to youth whom likes sports. 11 July – Two buses at the Bukit Batok Bus Interchange collide, resulting in one of the buses breaching a railing and falling a few meters onto another road. Fourteen people were taken to hospital, while another three did not request treatment. 14 July – The Sembcorp Tengeh Floating Solar Farm is officially opened as Singapore's first large-scale floating solar farm. Two more such facilities will be built in Bedok and Lower Selatar Reservoirs and completed later this year. 19 July – An attack takes place at River Valley High School with an axe, causing the death of a Secondary 1 student. A Secondary 4 student is arrested and subsequently charged with murder the following day. 22 July – CP: Due to a recent increase in COVID-19 cases and clusters in Singapore, the country returns to Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) which goes into effect until 18 August. 23 July – 8 August – 23 athletes from Singapore compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. For the first time since 2004, Singapore did not win any medals. 27 July – After the River Valley High School attack, measures are announced for the education system to reduce stress. Among them, all teachers will get enhanced training on mental health literacy, boost the number of teacher-counsellors to more than 1,000 in the next few years from 700 now, recruit more school counsellors or redeploy teachers to these roles, reinstating CCAs in secondary schools and pre-universities in the next few weeks, dedicating more time to regularly check on students' well-being, removing Common Last Topics from the 2021 GCE O, N and A-Level exams, and reducing the scope for the 2021 end-of-year exams in schools. A new interagency mental health taskforce is formed from an earlier group to devise a strategy on this issue. School security measures will continue to be strengthened and updated without losing the sense of safety, trust and homeliness. 28 July – The first four companies for Punggol Digital District are confirmed, being Boston Dynamics, Delta Electronics Int’l (Singapore), Group-IB and Wanxiang. The development will now be completed in 2024.
August 3 August – CP: Jurong Fishery Port resumes market activities following a two-week closure owing to a large cluster of COVID-19 cases there. 9 August – A ceremonial parade takes place at The Float @ Marina Bay. 10 August – CP: Some restrictions are eased under "Preparatory Stage". 14 August – Jia Jia, a panda residing at the River Safari, gives birth to Singapore's first panda cub which was conceived via artificial insemination. This comes after seven successive breeding rounds since 2015. The birth is announced the following day. The panda is later revealed to be a boy on 10 September after consultations with experts from China. On 29 December, the panda is named Le Le based on the old Chinese term "Shi Le Po", which referred to Singapore. 16 August – Tamil Singaporean actor, TV host & comedian Anandha Kannan died of bladder cancer at Singapore General Hospital. 19 August – The Museum of Ice Cream attraction in Singapore is officially opened in Loewen Road, located at the fringe of Orchard Road shopping district. 21 August – The National Day Parade 2021 takes place at The Float @ Marina Bay. This is the last major event and is followed by The National Day Parade 2022 before The Float makes way for NS Square. 24 August to 5 September – 10 athletes from Singapore compete at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan.