Malaya won the first Thomas Cup Tournament in 1949 and with that victory, it also won the right to hold the following tournament. The Singapore Badminton Hall was built in 1951 for that purpose, but was not completed in time for the second tournament. The third tournament was held here in 1955.
A landmark event, the vote-counting for the referendum on Singapore’s merger with Malaya, Sabah and Sarawak, was held in the Singapore Badminton Hall on 1 September 1962. About 71 percent of the electorate voted for the proposal to merge.