Singapore holds annual duck race

A record 123,500 ducks were entered for the race

The Singapore River turned yellow on Sunday as thousands of rubber ducks vied to win the city-state's fifth annual Million Dollar Duck Race.

The competition started with a splash

Hundreds of spectators waited on the banks of the river to watch the competition - the largest so far.

The race raised a record 1.2m Singapore dollars (US $705,000) for various local charities.

This year's contest also won the accolade of achieving the world record for the largest number of ducks sponsored in a single competition.

'Adopt a duck'

The contest started when more than 123,500 rubber ducks were released from the back of a truck into the Singapore river.

Each duck was "adopted" by a contestant for 10 Singapore dollars.

Only red ducks could net their owners the million dollar prize

The owner of the first duck to reach the finish line won 10,000 dollars.

Unfortunately there was no million-dollar winner this year.

According to the rules, the winning duck's owner only gets the million dollar bonus prize if the duck is red.

In a further fundraising effort, Singapore's celebrities signed ducks and other race memorabilia.

The so-called celebrity ducks have been auctioned off on the internet to the highest bidder.