VivoCity was built on the site of the Expo Gateway and Harbour Pavilion
exhibition halls of the former World Trade Centre (now the
HarbourFront Centre) in June 2003. Since its opening in 2006, it is currently the largest shopping mall in Singapore, spanning of gross floor area and of retail space, larger than
Suntec City and
Ngee Ann City (the former of which was the largest before VivoCity's opening). It was designed by the renowned Japanese architect
Toyo Ito. Mapletree Investments, a subsidiary of
Temasek Holdings, is the developer of the
S$417 million complex.
Official opening The shopping mall opened officially on 1 December 2006 after a
topping-out ceremony on 18 April and a soft launch on 7 October that year. The official opening included a six-minute
fireworks display, a concert by American band
String Theory for the general public, and
Stefanie Sun concert at the mall's
amphitheatre at the Sky Park on the third floor. The String Theory concert included a giant
harp with strings stretching to the third floor of the mall. A giant
projection screen was also set up at the main entrance of the mall; broadcasting Stefanie Sun's concert. The guest of honour of the event was chairman of
Temasek Holdings and former
cabinet minister
S. Dhanabalan. During its first month of opening, it attracted 4.2 million visitors, equivalent to the population of Singapore, and attracted 7.28 million visitors in total before the grand opening.
Countdown and tenancy changes VivoCity served as the official venue for the live televised countdown to the new year, instead of
Sentosa as in previous years. The 2007 Countdown, held from 31 December 2006 to 1 January 2007, was held at the rooftop amphitheatre and included performances by well-known homegrown artists from
Mediacorp Channel 5 and
8, as well as the Top 11 finalists of the second season of
Singapore Idol. The 2008 Countdown, held from 31 December 2007 to 1 January 2008, which showcased
Taufik Batisah,
Daren Tan Sze Wei, and the
Deal Or No Deal girls in addition to artists from Channel 5 and 8. Before the actual countdown party, fans were treated to a 50-minute showcase for the solo and group winners of the Channel 5 talent competition "Live The Dream", as well as performances by the other finalists of that competition. The 2009 Countdown, from 31 December 2008 to 1 January 2009 was held. This time it was for the artists from Channel 8 and
U instead of those from Channel 5. Since then, Channel 5 will hold its Countdown from
The Float @ Marina Bay. It also held the following countdowns from 2010 to 2013, but since 2013 it was stopped. In July 2018, VivoCity launched a new Basement 1 extension mall spanning 3,000 square metres. The new B1 extension is accessible via a new escalator lobby, Lobby R, situated right next to the
Kopitiam food court.
Giant,
Cold Storage, and
Guardian previously leased a space under Vivomart brand before moving out on 17 February 2019. The space is now occupied by
FairPrice Xtra on 16 July 2019. In January 2019, the
library@harbourfront, was also opened, permanently replacing TEMT and briefly replacing
Daiso and The Pet Safari, out of which they were closed down by March 2018. library@harbourfront replaces the Bukit Merah Public Library, and it is located at level 3. It is the biggest library to be located within the mall. The name keeps in line with the tourist libraries such as
Chinatown,
Orchard, and
Esplanade. Daiso eventually reopened in the mall on 15 January 2020 but as a smaller outlet located at level 2, while The Pet Safari occupies a location adjacent to the library. == Facilities ==