Catch Them If You Can

From producing a megawatt music festival and having their restaurant clinch a Michelin star, to launching an executive business lounge, Alex Chew and Raj Datwani have morphed their lifestyles into the hottest businesses around town. This year, the prolific duo are set to get the city buzzing once again.

- Adeline Loh

It’s 2015, and Raj Datwani and Alex Chew have just landed the rights to bring Ultra, one of the world’s biggest electronic music festivals, to town the following year. They’re on the hunt for the perfect site to hold the festival, one that can match iconic venues like Miami’s Bayfront Park, and there is one spot they can’t stop thinking about – an open field at Marina Bay, next to Marina Bay Sands Tower 1. The pair see a rare opportunity to put Singapore on the map.

Fast forward to preparing for the second Ultra outing in June this year, and they’re ready to look back on the inaugural event. “Some people looked at us like we were crazy to throw the Ultra Festival at Marina Bay,” says Datwani, 35, with a laugh.

For starters, it was no easy task convincing multiple government authorities to give their go ahead. Not to mention that the site was an entirely untested venue. “You couldn’t go to another event organiser and ask what their experience was like,” recalls 31-year-old Chew. As for facilities, there was none – no water, electricity, or Wi-Fi.

“The location is so iconic and beautiful. Anybody who sees the images know that it’s Singapore,” says Chew. The inaugural event played to a massive 45,000-strong crowd from over 60 countries, featuring top acts such as Norwegian DJ Kygo, Swedish DJ Axwell and American-Chinese producer Zhu. The event was also streamed live to half a million people around the world, with the Singapore skyline in full view.