Decline

As popular as the park was in the 40s and 50s, the 60s saw the decline of the Great World Amusement Park. In the 1960s, television sets became widely available at community centres and in the homes of some in the population. In February 1963, the first television station in Singapore, the Television Singapura was launched [1]. This novelty drew crowds away from the amusement parks into community centres and the homes of their well-off neighbours.

The development of new shopping complexes and the rising popularity of Orchard Road near the Great World Amusement Park also drew the consumer crowd away from the older, more traditional retailers in the great world. These “new” and more “trendy” alternatives eventually contributed to the closing of the park in 1964 [2].

Cinemas and restaurants remained open until 1978, and Trade Fairs continued to be held in the great world. In 1979, the park was sold to Malaysia’s “Sugar King” Robert Kuok. Plans were laid, but the demolishing of the amusement park and the development of the new shopping and residential complex was delayed until 1988 due to concerns over the construction budget [3].  In October 1997, the Great World City shopping centre finally opened doors to the public on the land that once flourished with the Great World Amusement park.

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