--- title: Sinagpore: Foreign Companies Told Not to Sponsor LGBT Event description: Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs is warning foreign corporations that they should not continue to sponsor an annual gay rights event. canonical: https://time.com/4360973/pink-dot-singapore-facebook-google-apple/ author: Simon Lewis article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-08T10:39:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:50:04.470Z article:section: World og:title: Foreign Companies to Stop Sponsoring a Singapore LGBT Event og:description: Pink Dot SG is an annual event in support of the LGBT community og:url: https://time.com/4360973/pink-dot-singapore-facebook-google-apple/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte893a34194b73e9a/698896e8f887dca801e962f4/gettyimages-476952366.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Pink Dot Rally Held In Singapore og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Foreign Companies to Stop Sponsoring a Singapore LGBT Event twitter:description: Pink Dot SG is an annual event in support of the LGBT community twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte893a34194b73e9a/698896e8f887dca801e962f4/gettyimages-476952366.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Singapore Has Told Foreign Companies to Stop Sponsoring an Annual LGBT Event by [Simon Lewis](/author/simon-lewis/) ## Simon Lewis Jun 8, 2016 10:39 AM CUT  People dressed in various shades of pink attend Pink Dot SG on June 13, 2015 in Singapore People dressed in various shades of pink attend Pink Dot SG on June 13, 2015 in SingaporeLionel Ng—Getty Images by [Simon Lewis](/author/simon-lewis/) ## Simon Lewis Jun 8, 2016 10:39 AM CUT Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs has [warned](https://www.mha.gov.sg/Newsroom/press-releases/Pages/MHA-Statement-on-Foreign-Sponsorships-for-Pink-Dot-2016.aspx "undefined") multinational corporations that they should not continue to sponsor an annual gay-rights event. Pink Dot SG took place Saturday against a backdrop of [complaints](http://theindependent.sg/wear-white-will-push-back-pink-dot-lawrence-khong/ "undefined") that it goes against the city-state’s traditional conservative values. The event’s website lists tech giants Facebook, Apple and Google, as well as financial behemoths Barclays, J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs, among its corporate sponsors. In a statement on its website Tuesday, the ministry said that the Singaporean government generally rejects foreign entities interfering in domestic issues. “These are political, social or moral choices for Singaporeans to decide for ourselves,” it said. More specifically, the ministry said it would “take steps to make it clear that foreign entities should not fund, support or influence such events” — namely those advocating “the LGBT cause.” Although not actively enforced, the conservative-minded government retains an official ban on sex between men, and there has recently been [censorship](http://time.com/2975400/singapore-lgbt-gay-family-library-book-and-tango-makes-three-white-swan-express-whos-in-my-family/ "undefined") of gay themes in the [media](http://time.com/3000130/singapore-has-banned-an-archie-comic-for-depicting-a-gay-wedding/ "undefined"). Pink Dot SG — a relatively small event but the nearest thing Singapore has to Pride — has been held since 2009\. The organizers say the event helped create greater visibility for Singapore’s LGBT community, while striving to stay within the country’s laws. In a [statement](http://pinkdot.sg/pink-dot-statement-on-corporate-sponsors/ "undefined") Wednesday, Pink Dot said the event’s corporate sponsors are all registered and incorporated locally, adding: “We are fortunate to count among them admired household names, employers of choice for a sizeable portion of our workforce, inextricably linked with and fully a part of this beautiful fabric we call home.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4360973/pink-dot-singapore-facebook-google-apple/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4360973/pink-dot-singapore-facebook-google-apple/"},"headline":"Singapore Has Told Foreign Companies to Stop Sponsoring an Annual LGBT Event","datePublished":"2016-06-08T10:39:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:50:04.470Z","description":"Pink Dot SG supports the LGBT community in conservative Singapore","url":"https://time.com/4360973/pink-dot-singapore-facebook-google-apple/","keywords":["Singapore","Tech","Gay Rights","Apple","Google","facebook","LGBT","Goldman Sachs","Barclays"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte893a34194b73e9a/698896e8f887dca801e962f4/gettyimages-476952366.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Simon Lewis","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/simon-lewis/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte893a34194b73e9a/698896e8f887dca801e962f4/gettyimages-476952366.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pink Dot Rally Held In Singapore","caption":"Pink Dot Rally Held In Singapore","creditText":"Lionel Ng—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/singapore/","name":"Singapore"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4360973/pink-dot-singapore-facebook-google-apple/","name":"Singapore Has Told Foreign Companies to Stop Sponsoring an Annual LGBT Event"}}]}] ```