Ther Merlion, Singapore's most unique tourism landmark, will be transformed into a temporary hotel suite where guests can spend a night. The project is an installation project titled "The Merlion Hotel", presented as part of this year's "Singapore Biennale" (v) organised by the Singapore Art Museum.

The Merlion would be hoarded up from Feb 7 to March 9 to facilitate the conversion and for safety considerations. The Merlion Hotel will be unveiled on March 11 and be opened for public viewing from March 13 to May 15. During this time, members of the public will be able to view the installation daily from 10am to 7pm.

Key information on "The Merlion Hotel", including how visitors may stay a night at the suite, will be illustrated on the hoarding panels and announced shortly by the Singapore Art Museum. The Merlion will be undergoing reinstatement works from May 16 to June 5. Operation will resume on June 6.

The Merlion (Malay: Singa-Laut) is an imaginary creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish, is used as a mascot of Singapore. Its name combines "mer" meaning the sea and "lion". The fish body comes from Singapore's ancient name back when it was a fishing village - Temasek - meaning "sea town" in Javanese. The lion head represents Singapore's original name - Singapura - meaning "lion city" or "kota singa".

The symbol was designed by Fraser Brunner, a member of the Souvenir Committee and curator of the Van Kleef Aquarium, for the logo of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and has been in use from 26 March 1964 to 1997.The Merlion continues to be its trademark symbol since 20 July 1966. Although the STB changed their logo in 1997, the STB Act continues to protect the Merlion symbol.

Merlion Park, Marina Bay

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