Right now, more than 5,000 species of orchids are on display in Singapore at the 20th World Orchid Conference --- known as the Olympics of orchids.

And, Lifestyles has your ticket.

The World Orchid Conference has been held every three years since 1954 in different cities around the world.

It is one of the largest orchid shows and has been known for its extensive coverage of the different species.

At the Singapore conference hosted by the National Parks Board this year, the more than 50,000 orchids fall into over 5,000 species.

Organizers and orchid lovers spent a lot of efforts to put them together by bringing them here from 19 different countries and regions.

The various orchids on display at the Marina Bay Sands Exhibition and Convention Center turned the hall into a spectacular wonderland.

SOUNDBITE: Simon Tan, manager, National Orchid Gardens, Singapore
"Actually this World Orchid Conference is one of the biggest orchid shows in Singapore's history. We hosted the event in 1948 and we are honoured to be able to host it again this year. And it is a huge show."
 
The orchid is loved by many people around the world, either for the beauty of its flowers or for its elegant leaves and carriage.

A group of 210 judges from 25 countries and regions voted to choose the best orchid display work and the champion plant on Saturday evening at the official opening of the World Orchid Conference.
The display from Thailand emerged the champion.

But, no one left empty handed.

SOUNDBITE: Simon Tan, manager, National Orchid Gardens, Singapore
  "This is one of the feature attractions of the show this year. It is known tiger orchid. The flower season was usually between July and September. So it is quite special that we are seeing the flower now in November. It is also one of the world's largest orchids. A grown orchid can weigh up to 1 ton, with the flower stem as long as two meters. And each of the flowers is as large as our palm. It is known as tiger orchid because its color is quite similar to what we see on the skin of a tiger."
 
Although it's only a small city state, Singapore is one of the world's leading exporters of orchids.

And, it has a tradition of naming new hybrids after state leaders or other guests who visited the National Orchid Garden. 

SOUNDBITE: Simon Tan, manager, National Orchid Gardens, Singapore
"When the state leaders and prime ministers of other countries come to visit Singapore or for a meeting, we often name our new hybrid species after them. One of the flowers is named after Madame Lao An, wife of Chinese former premier Zhu Rongji. It was not in the flower season, so we can't see it here this time. But we can see the orchid species named after other celebrities such as Dendrobium Margaret Thatcher, Alois Philipp Maria (crown prince of Liechtenstein), Dendrobium Mozah bint Nasser al-Misned (wife of Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani), Dendrobium Usha Narayanan (Indian former first lady). All these were named after the state leaders of different countries and were put on display here."

The eight-day show is expected to attract more than 300,000 visitors through this Sunday.