SEA Games: 4,739 Nila plush toys set record

The Singapore SEA Games Organising Committee (SINGSOC) made it into the Singapore Book of Records (SBOR) with a display of 4,739 Nila plush toys.

Nila is the official mascot for the 28th SEA Games, which will be held here next month.

The plush toys were hand-decorated by members of the public under the Make-A-Nila programme, a community initiative launched in November last year. They will be presented, along with their victory medals, to winning athletes on the podium, SINGSOC said in a statement today.

"We are very heartened by the overwhelming response from the community to the Make-a-Nila initiative. A medallist receiving personalised mascots made by the community is possibly a first at any major Games, and since it is Singapore's turn to host the Games, we wanted our community to be meaningfully involved in as many ways as they can," Mr Toh Boon Yi, SINGSOC's chief of community and corporate outreach said.

Another 50 specially designed Nila plush toys, some by celebrities and athletes, have also been selected to be part of a roving showcase. The exhibition will travel to malls and the Singapore Sports Hub for viewing by members of the public, who stand a chance to win exclusive SEA Games memorabilia by posting photos of them with their favourite plush toy on Instagram. The posts have to be tagged with #makeanila, #seagames2015 and #sportshubgetsredy.

huizhen@sph.com.sg