Located off the southern coast of mainland Singapore, Sentosa (Isle of Tranquillity) was initially known as Pulau Blakang Mati (Island Behind Death). Starting from the 1880s, the island was an important British military base with a number of forts built on it to protect the southern shipping lanes. In 1970, the island was renamed Sentosa following a naming contest organised by the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board (STPB). The development of the island into a tourist and recreation resort came under the management of the Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC), which was formed in 1972.In 1980, the STPB announced plans for a second round of development to attract more visitors to Sentosa. The plans included the construction of a musical fountain on a reclaimed area of Imbiah Bay. A contract was subsequently awarded to Venus Enterprises to construct the fountain, which was officially opened in June 1982. Two months prior to its launch, SDC organised a contest to find a new name for the attraction. However, none of the entries were found to be suitable and the original name, Musical Fountain, was retained.Built at a cost of $3.2 million, the fountain initially comprised of a swan-shaped main pool, two terrace pools, and a viewing gallery that could accommodate up to 1,000 people. The computer-controlled fountain was able to display 16 different water formations in time to familiar local, classical and Broadway tunes such as Singapura, Little White Boat and My Fair Lady. To mark its official opening, the Pains Fireworks company was invited over from London to set up a spectacular silvery fireworks display. A fibreglass ‘rock’ wall was added to the popular attraction in 1985.
