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It was meant to be a theme party promoting a sporty lifestyle.
But the Singapore Sports Council's name for the event, Spam - Sports Party Animal Movement - this Saturday has drawn flak from an invitee.
Last week, the irate guest, known as M L Lee, e-mailed the SSC two lengthy objections to the party invitations sent out by the council two weekends ago. A copy was also e-mailed to the media.
The writer felt that the choice of name for the event, to be held at St James Power Station, was offensive and humiliating as the term, "party animals", and the acronym, Spam, equated the party's guests to animals, canned meat or junk e-mail. The latter two are the more common meanings for the abbreviation.
"No human would enjoy being called an 'animal'," Lee said. "Are people who engage in sports a party of animals? Is there a lack of creativity in such a lapse?"
However, young party-goers my paper spoke to felt that the name could have been more hip, while marketing executives cheered the name, saying that it could have been bolder.
In an e-mail response to Lee, the SSC apologised, saying any offence was unintentional. The council told my paper that it was constantly trying new ways to engage the public.
The SSC's director of sports culture Bervyn Lee said: "The term 'party animal' is a street slang for a person who enjoys partying. The aim of the event is to bring across the message that sports can be fun and exciting, just like any other lifestyle activity such as clubbing."
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