Home Team Festival 2026 at Suntec: a family guide to the dog shows, kiddy ride and booths

The Home Team Festival 2026 runs from Friday 20 to Sunday 22 November at Suntec Convention Centre, on the Level 3 Concourse and in Halls 401 to 406 on Level 4. It's where the police, SCDF, ICA, the Central Narcotics Bureau and the Singapore Prison Service set out their vehicles, gear and games for the public. For kids, that means police dog shows, an SCDF search dog you can meet, a smoke maze, fingerprint dusting and a kiddy ride of Home Team vehicles for two- to seven-year-olds.

Most of it is hands-on rather than look-but-don't-touch, and the whole thing is indoors at Suntec, and it falls on the first weekend of the year-end school holidays, which start on Saturday 21 November. Toddlers will like the vehicles and the dogs. Older kids will want the games that put them in an officer's shoes, like solving a crime or searching a car.

We took every time and detail on this page from the festival site and Suntec's own pages on 10 November 2026. Show times can shift, so check the stage programme the day before you go.

Home Team Festival 2026 dates, opening hours and entry

Each day keeps different hours, and Saturday starts late for the public. Here's how the three days compare.

Before you go, sign up for the HTF Digital Pass on the festival site. It's your queue ticket for the popular booths: scan the QR code at a station and the e-ticket attaches to your account, so you can wander off and come back when your turn is near. The pass also runs a Virtual Mission, where you build a #HomeTeamHeroes avatar and finish the tasks to collect a limited-edition keycap keychain. You can create the pass from 20 November.

Stage shows to plan your day around

The stage is the part to time your visit by, because the dog shows and the operations demonstration are the moments small children remember. These are the family picks from the stage programme, by day.

• Friday 20 November: the SCDF search dog display and meet-and-greet at 2.55pm, an operations demonstration at 4.35pm and 7.40pm, and the police K9 Show at 5.25pm.
• Saturday 21 November, once the public is let in at 1pm: the Junior Civil Defence Lionhearter follow-along CPR session at 1.50pm, the search dog display at 2.20pm, an operations demonstration at 4.20pm and 7.30pm, and the K9 Show at 5.50pm.
• Sunday 22 November: operations demonstrations at 10.35am, 1.55pm and 6.45pm, search dog displays at 12.20pm and 3.35pm, follow-along CPR at 1pm, the National Police Cadet Corps drill at 2.40pm and 4.50pm, and the K9 Show at 5.30pm.

Band sets from the police, ICA and SCDF fill the gaps between these, along with short ambassador spotlights and a segment called Starstruck. AMPLIFY SG Band plays at 8.20pm on Friday, 5.10pm on Saturday and 4.15pm on Sunday.

Hands-on booths and the ones with a queue

The exhibition is split into three zones, called Illuminate, Imagine and Involve. Plenty of it is aimed at teenagers thinking about a career, so here are the parts we'd head for with young children.

• Crime Solving and Fingerprint Dusting at the police booth, the easiest one for a preschooler to join in.
• The vehicles on show, which include the SCDF's Electric Pump Ladder and its Enhanced 7th-Generation ambulance, a Traffic Police expressway patrol car and motorcycle, and the police Next-Generation Fast Response Car.
• Inspector Clif and the police Community Engagement Robot, plus HTX's robotics showcase and its hands-on robotics station.
• Traffic Police road safety education, and ICA's Spot the Article and Facial Matching games, where kids try the kind of checks ICA officers do.
• SCDF's CPR, AED and first aid booth, a gentle way to teach an older child what to do in an emergency.

Some stations work only through the virtual queue. They include the SCDF's Fight the Fire game and its Smoke-Logged Confined Maze, CNB's VR game, its Drug Buster game and a go at a real door ram, the ICA vehicle search, HTX's hands-on robotics and the shooting range run by the police and Prison Service. The festival doesn't give age limits for these, so decide on the spot whether your child is ready for a smoky maze.

The kiddy ride for two- to seven-year-olds

The Home Team Kiddy Ride puts small children in the driver's seat of kid-sized, Home Team-inspired vehicles, and it's the one booth that is built for toddlers. Riders have to be two to seven years old, between 80cm and 120cm tall and no heavier than 45kg.

It has its own queue. Scan the ride's QR code for a queue number, and WhatsApp messages tell you how many people are ahead and roughly how long you'll wait, then send a reminder when your turn is close. Join it as soon as you arrive, and see the rest of the hall while you wait.

Getting there by train, bus or car

Suntec Convention Centre is at 1 Raffles Boulevard. Esplanade MRT on the Circle Line is the closest station: take Exit A and follow the signs, about three minutes on foot. From Promenade, which is on both the Circle and Downtown Lines, take Exit C and walk through Suntec City Mall for about five minutes. From City Hall on the East West and North South Lines, go through CityLink Mall and Esplanade Xchange, about eight minutes.

Bus stops sit right outside Suntec Singapore, and services 36, 70M, 97, 106, 111, 133 and 857 are among the many that stop there. Services 10, 14, 16, 70 and 196 stop at Suntec City. If you're driving or taking a taxi, the drop-off is the driveway on Temasek Boulevard where The Big Picture is. Drivers can get into the basement car park from Nicoll Highway, Raffles Boulevard, Temasek Avenue or the Rochor Road exit of the ECP, then park in the West Wing Green Zone and take lift lobby A or B up to Levels 3 and 4.

Strollers, nursing rooms and keeping little ones close

The festival's safety notes ask parents to keep young children close in the crowds and never leave them alone, so a stroller or a carrier for the under-threes is worth bringing. The first aid and lost and found booth is on the right side of the event stage. Point it out to an older child as the place to wait if you get split up.

Neither the festival site nor the Suntec pages we read list a nursing room or stroller rules for the halls, so ask the crew at the entrance when you arrive. The festival bans some items for safety, including drones, e-cigarettes, alcohol and anything that looks like a weapon, so leave toy guns and swords at home. You'll also be photographed and filmed for Home Team publicity. If you'd rather your family stayed out of the pictures, tell the event crew.

Where to eat at the festival and in Suntec City

On the Level 3 Concourse, Yellow Ribbon Singapore runs the Hope Cafe with coffee, tea and cakes baked by supporters of the Yellow Ribbon cause. The same stretch has the Hope Workshop and claw machines, which bored siblings may thank you for.

For a proper meal, Suntec City Mall is attached and opens daily from 10am to 10pm. Food Republic is at #B1-115 for a food court, and Toast Box (#B1-167) and Ya Kun Kaya Toast (#B1-104 and #02-349) are there for a quick bite. Families wanting a sit-down meal can try Din Tai Fung at #02-302 or Sushiro at #01-649, and McDonald's is at #02-732.

A rain plan and the quietest times to visit

Rain shouldn't change your plans much. The festival is indoors, and the walks from Promenade and City Hall run through Suntec City Mall and CityLink Mall.

The festival doesn't publish crowd figures, so this is our reading of its hours. Friday from 11am is likely to be the calmest time, since it's a school day and the stage doesn't get going until 2pm. On Saturday everyone is let in at once at 1pm, so arrive a little later or expect a crowd at the door. Sunday opens at 9am and has the most shows, which makes an early start worth it if your toddler naps after lunch.

More ideas for the same weekend

Marina Square is next door, and our guide to Sesame Street's Magical Art World there covers an easy add-on for preschoolers. The Esplanade family guide covers free shows a short walk away, and our school holiday activities guide and What's On for families list everything else on this month.

Frequently asked questions

When and where does the festival take place in 2026?

It runs from Friday 20 to Sunday 22 November 2026 at Suntec Convention Centre, on the Level 3 Concourse and in Halls 401 to 406 on Level 4. It opens 11am to 9pm on Friday, 1pm to 9pm on Saturday for the public, and 9am to 9pm on Sunday.

Do we need tickets to get in?

The festival pages we read list no ticket, entry fee or timed booking for the halls. Sign up for the HTF Digital Pass to join the virtual queues for the busy booths and to do the Virtual Mission.

What can toddlers and preschoolers do there?

The kiddy ride is built for ages two to seven. Little ones also enjoy the police dog and search dog shows, the vehicles on display, fingerprint dusting and the robots.

What time are the police dog shows?

The K9 Show is at 5.25pm on Friday, 5.50pm on Saturday and 5.30pm on Sunday. The SCDF search dog display and meet-and-greet is at 2.55pm on Friday, 2.20pm on Saturday, and 12.20pm and 3.35pm on Sunday.

Which MRT station is nearest?

Esplanade on the Circle Line is the closest, about three minutes from Exit A. Promenade (Exit C, through Suntec City Mall) is five minutes away and City Hall about eight.