Singapore National Day parade
The National Day Parade (Abbreviation: NDP, Chinese: 国庆庆典, Malay: Perbarisan Hari Kebangsa'an) is a national ceremony in Singapore that, as its name implies, includes a parade on Singapore's national day on August 9, in commemoration of Singapore's independence that is usually held in the Singapore National Stadium or Padang.
History of NDP
Singapore celebrated her first National Day in 1966, one year after Singapore's independence from Malaysia on 9 August 1965.
The first National Day Parade started in the morning at 0900. People came as early as 0700 in order to get good vantage points. Singapore's first President, Mr Yusof bin Ishak and Singapore's first Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, were seated with members of the government at the grandstand on the steps of City Hall.
Over the years, the parade has become the biggest national event in Singapore. What is perhaps most memorable at each celebration is the fireworks display marking the climax of the parade; the sky would be bursting with the wonderful colors of the visual vista, dazzling it as well as the hearts of fellow Singaporeans. On this very special occasion, most Singaporeans would be decked out in patriotic colors - namely, red and white.
The Parade has gained enormous popularity and support from the people that it is not unusual to find massive number of citizens trying to get their hands on a ticket, which is released free-of-charge. In the past, it has been known that people would arrive hours before the ticket booths even open, such as the one in 1998, where some arrived as early as 36 hours before the actual release of tickets.
This proved to be problematic for obvious reasons and as such, the government set up the e-balloting ticketing system in 2003, in order to tackle the problem of overcrowding and possible problems that might result. Such ticketing system enables citizens to stand a chance at winning the tickets by registering their e-mail addresses or mobile numbers at the NDP website or phonelines.
Venues & Themes
The venue of the parade is usually at the historical grounds of the Padang, where the declaration of Singapore's independence was held. Since the first parade in 1966, all the way until the year 1975, the venue was located at the central area, so as to bring the parade closer to the people. In 1976, the parade was held for the first time at the newly completed National Stadium, where the much bigger capacity allowed for more to view the parade live.
Although offering about 60,000 seats in the National Stadium, the demand for tickets is high year after year. Hence there has been several attempts to decentralise the celebration venue and to bring the celebration closer to more Singaporeans. Thus from 1975, the celebrations were alternated between either a decentralised event or one centered at the Padang or the stadium, which went on until 1983. Thereafter from 1984, the parade was held twice at the stadium before coming back to the padang every three years.
From 1995 onwards, it was decided that the Padang will be used as a venue every five years. The Padang, although historically important, poses a greater logistical challenge, and also offers fewer seats for spectators due to its smaller size as compared to the National Stadium by 25 hectares. The event and rehearsals often require the closing of surrounding roads, and there is a need to construct spectator stands around the field. The site is, however, the only feasible venue for the mobile column, as the heavy vehicles cannot be driven into the stadium track.
This arrangement needed a review by the early 2000s, however, when plans were made to rebuild the National Stadium. Several alternative locations and plans were mooted, including the utilisation of the Marina Padang, which is physically bigger and less likely to disrupt daily functions in the city. The venue was used for performance purposes for the 2005 parade, when the event was once again decentralised Marina South, Jurong East, Yishun and Tampines, but with the main venue at the Padang.
On 16 October 2005, it was publicly announced that that 2006 NDP will still be held at the old stadium for the last time, before moving to a new floating platform built on Marina Bay from 2007 onwards [1]. The 130 metre by 100 metre platform will be used for the next three to four years, for at most five years until the new stadium is completed.
Since the 2000s, every year's parade will revolve around a theme which will guide the planning of the parade and show.
- 1966 - 1974: Padang
- 1975: All over the island
- 1976: National Stadium
- 1977: All over the island
- 1978: Padang
- 1979: All over the island
- 1980: National Stadium
- 1981: All over the island
- 1982: Padang
- 1983: All over the island
- 1984: Padang > "25 Years of Nation Building, 1959 - 1984"
- 1985: National Stadium
- 1986: National Stadium
- 1987: Padang
- 1988: National Stadium
- 1989: National Stadium
- 1990: Padang > "One People, One Nation, One Singapore"
- 1991: National Stadium
- 1992: National Stadium
- 1993: Padang
- 1994: National Stadium
- 1995: Padang > "30 Years of Nationhood"
- 1996 - 1999: National Stadium
- 2000: Padang
- 2001: National Stadium
- 2002: National Stadium > "A Caring Nation"
- 2003: National Stadium > "A Cohesive Society"
- 2004: National Stadium > "A Progressive Society"
- 2005: Padang > "40 Years of Nation Building"
- 2006: National Stadium > "Our Global City Our Home" [2]
- 2007: Marina Bay
Logos
Beginning from 1998, a unique logo design was selected to represent NDP on all fronts. Even though there had been logos for some previous years' parades, these were only for years of special commemoration, such as the Silver Jubilee in 1990. For all other years' National Day celebrations, slogans have been used. An example of this is "Our Singapore, Our Future" that was first used in the 1997 celebrations.
With the introduction of a NDP logo for 1998, every NDP logo henceforth would be designed to suit the themes, in particular the foundation theme, of the parade. In addition, a tagline, which was previously known as a slogan, would be added to the logo design. For example, the tagline for NDP 2005 is "The Future is Ours to Make". These taglines are usually taken from previous National Day Rallies for the purpose of rallying the nation together on 9 August to meet the challenges ahead. The tagline "Together We Make The Difference" was introduced in 1999 due to the launch of the Singapore 21 project, and was replaced by "Together, A New Singapore" in 2002 when then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong proposed the "Remaking Singapore" initiative in the National Day Rally 2001.
However, it is important to note that the themes and taglines are largely different; and it is the theme that the parade or Show segment will be based on. Taglines are only meant to give a punchier and catchy introduction to the vision Singapore wants to attain.
Parade sequence
Although the programme and sequence of the parade do change over the years, several components and the overall flow of the parade have remained intact for the past 4 decades. With the shifting of venues for some editions of the parade, the programme may see slight modifications in order to suit the venue, for instance the Mobile Column, which is only possible at the Padang site.
Pre-parade
The pre-parade segment today may include mass-displays, choir performances, school band displays, sky-diving displays, and other light-hearted performances to entertain the crowd prior to the parade proper, with the added positive effect of encouraging parade-attendees to be seated earlier. Initially introduced on an ad-hoc basis as an informal filler, it has since became an integral part of the parade particularly when live television coverage was extended to this segment in recent years. As audience participation has become a part of the parade, the pre-parade segment also becomes an opportunity for the hosts to lead and rehearse with the audience actions they may have to do when the parade proper begins.
Parade and Ceremonies
The parade has been a traditional staple of the National Day Parade. Participants of the parade include members of the Singapore Armed Forces, Singapore Police Force, Singapore Civil Defence Force, representatives of the different unions and Ministries as well as students in uniformed groups (such as the National Cadet Corp, the Singapore Red Cross).
Participants are spilt into two main sections: the Guard-of-Honor contingents and the Supporting Contingents. The four Guard-of-Honor contingents are made up of members from the three arms of the Singapore Armed Forces (the Army, represented by the Best Combat Unit; the Navy; and the Air Force) as well as the Singapore Police Force. All members of these contingents are dressed in their respective ceremonial uniforms, known as the No. 1 uniform. Behind the Guard-of-Honor contingents stand the Colours Party, where the state and regimental colours are held by a group of officers, known as ensigns.
The parade traditionally starts with the Parade Regimental Sergeant Major (Parade RSM) forming up the parade on either the Padang or the field of the National Stadium. The command of the parade is handed over to the Parade Commander once the parade has been formed up. Typically, both the Parade RSM and the Parade Commander come from the SAF, and usually hold a minimum rank of Master Warrant Officer, and Lieutenant Colonel respectively. Upon sizing up the parade, the Parade Commander will wait for the arrival of the members of Parliament, members of the Cabinent, and the Prime Minister, in that order. Upon the arrival of each group, the parade will present its salute and present arms.
Lastly once the President has arrived, the Parade Commander will call for a full salute, during which the National Anthem will be played accompanied by a flypast of the State Flag. After that, the Parade Commander will request that the President inspects the parade. During this inspection, the President will be accompanied by the Chief of Defence Force, Chief of Staff and the Parade Commander. A presidential 21-gun salute is also given to the President during this time. It's customary that the President speaks to some members of the Guard-of-honor contingents as he passes by. After the inspection ends, the President will return to the podium before the Guard-of-honor contingents presents a Feu-de-Joie. At the end of it, the Parade Commander will ask the President for permission for a Parade Marchpast.
Marchpast
Mobile column
The Mobile Column is the parade of vehicles and other hardwares from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Singapore Police Force and Singapore Civil Defence Force. The first Mobile Column was organised in 1969 which displayed the then newly acquired armour vehicles of the SAF. In 1990, after an absence of 20 years, the Mobile Column made a come back as Singapore celebrated its 25th years of independence. Since then, it has been on show during the more important anniversaries of the nation's birthday, such as the 1995, 2000, and the upcoming 2005 editions held at the Padang.
Flypast
Show segment
Highlights
The spectacular show segment follows the traditional parade and ceremony, and lasts normally for 45 minutes. Following the theme of the parade that year, the Show will feature three main Acts that culminates in a Grand Finale, that will usually feature the theme song of that year's parade, followed by the much anticipated fireworks display. The entire parade will end in a chorus of voices singing familiar National Day Songs, mass pledge taking and the singing of the National Anthem.
It has its origins in early NDPs as various mass display items put up by community groups or schools to add colour to the otherwise military parade. These items revolved around the themes of racial harmony, ruggedness among youths etc, which are represented by ethnic dances and mass gymnastics displays. This section evolved over the years to become more theatrical, from the massive flashcard displays that complemented the parade in the 1980s to multimedia projections in recent Shows.
Float displays also featured prominently in the Show segments of the 1970s and 1980s where floats were designed to promote government campaigns or highlight the works of various public and private companies. This returned in NDP 2005 as a visual representation of Singapore's past 40 years of nation building.
Parades today, held from dusk to night, end in the climax of fireworks displays which have become a signature item of National Days. However, in the early parades that were held in the day, mass lion dance displays are actually the finale in the parade. Lion dance troupes from various community centres and clan associations would gather on the field to the resonating sound of drumbeats to put on a fiery display that end the parade on an auspicious note.
Participating Organisations
Though every Show would see the participation of an assortment of public and private companies, there are three main anchors taking on each Act. They are the Peoples' Association (which involvement started in 1984), Singapore SOKA Association (which involvement began in 1986) and the Ministry of Education, which would be represented by an individual institution or a cluster of schools.
Multimedia Show
The multimedia equipment is used during the show segment, this are the lists which type of multimedia equipment in the year.
2003, it using the PIGI projection directed at stadium playing field, which used in 2000 Summer Olympics Opening/Closing Cermony before. Also, three cheaper video screens set at the blue sector.
2004, "Biggest LED Screen" in Singapore, measuring 31m x 7m, made up of 23 panels wide by 7 panels high. Also one of the largest outdoor screen in the world. In this year, for the first time, public could send national day greetings via SMS/MMS that will be shown on this LED screen.
2005, "Panoramic Screen and Still Image Projectors", The Panoramic Screen is made up of 26 individual screens each measuring 10m by 6m. Still Image Projectors will be used to project the colourful images onto the screen. Also 2 large LED screen, each measuring 8m by 6m, will be used to screen numerous videos and ‘live’ feeds .
Post-parade
Post parade parties began in 1997 in a big way when it was televised on TV and featured top celebrity acts. The purposes of the post parade segment are to congratulate and acknowledge the hard work put in by the participants of the parade as well as to provide entertainment to the audience awaiting to leave the Stadium or Padang.
The post parade will normally last for one hour and will end with the Chief of Defence Force, the Chairman of that year's NDP EXCO and the organisers cutting a cake to celebrate with the participants yet another successful National Day Parade. The party is now normally anchored by the SAF Music and Drama Company.
National Day Songs
National Day Songs
Uner the Sing Singapore Festival, which inaugurated in 1984, numerous community songs have been composed. Nonetheless, only few National Day songs which struck a chord among Singaporeans continue to be sung annually in the parade. They are collectively known as the Sing Singapore Medley which comes after the fireworks display during the Grand Finale.
These songs are "Stand Up For Singapore" (1984), "Count on Me Singapore", "We Are Singapore" (1987), and "One People, One Nation, One Singapore" (1990). The most recent addition to this medley is "Home" (1998).
Other National Day songs continue to be featured during the parade, either in the Pre Parade segment, Parade and Ceremony segment or used as tunes to accompany mass displays. In particular, for the Parade and Ceremony segment, in between the arrivals of Members of Parliament, Cabinet Ministers, the Prime Minister and the President, four songs each of one official language (Tamil, Malay, Mandarin and English) will be performed.
Theme Songs
NDP Theme songs were introduced in NDP 1998, with the widely well-received piece "Home" composed by Dick Lee and sung by local celebrity Kit Chan. Due to its popularity, the song was used once again in 2004 when various renditions, including a rock piece by JJ Lin, were made. This is partly to use the platform of the televised national event to increase awareness to new National Day pieces composed for the Sing Singapore Festival held then.
In 2003, however, a significant split took place when the National Day theme song of that year was not the Sing Singapore theme song. Stefanie Sun's "One United People" was used as the NDP theme song to better suit the theme of "A Cohesive Society" while Sean Wang's "A Place in My Heart" was chosen to lead the Sing Singapore 2003 Festival.
The theme songs come in two languages, the lingua franca in Singapore - English as well as Mandarin. To promote the songs, music videos that showcase local landmarks and lifestyle are made and shown on national television a month before National Day; the songs will also be played on local airwaves. Legal mp3 downloads are also available on the NDP website.
The selection of theme song singers often reflects the acknowledgement of a nation to her homegrown talents. Local songbirds that made it big in regional music scenes, such as Stefanie Sun, Tanya Chua and Kit Chan, were invited back home to perform various National Day theme songs. Most recently, the voted winner of the Singapore Idol Contest 2004, Taufik Batisah was the obvious choice to lead the nation in singing the NDP 2005's theme song "Reach Out For The Skies".
The list of NDP theme songs are as follows:
- 1998: Home <家> - Kit Chan (陈洁仪)
- 1999: Together <心连心> - Evelyn Tan & Dreamz FM (陈毓云&梦飞船)
- 2000: Shine on Me - Jai, <星月> - Mavis Hee (许美静)
- 2001: Where I Belong <属于> - Tanya Chua (蔡健雅)
- 2002: We Will Get There <一起走到> - Stefanie Sun (孙燕姿)
- 2003: One United People <全心全意> - Stefanie Sun (孙燕姿)
- 2004: Home <家> - Kit Chan (陈洁仪) and JJ Lin (林俊杰) (The MTV versions were choral renditions performed by Young Voices, which comprises of the Choirs from the Tanjong Katong Girls' School and Tampines Primary School.)
- 2005: Reach Out For The Skies - Taufik Batisah and Rui'En, <勇敢向前飞> - Rui'En 芮恩
NDP Funpack
Funpacks are bags containing goodies which are distributed every year. These goodies include food and drinks from various participating companies and sponsors; items intended for the use during the parade, such as a theme-designed torchlight, and last but not least, the Singapore flag. Funpacks bags are designed by students from local polytechnics.
Organisation & Sponsorship
The National Day Parades are organised by the Singapore Armed Forces, with the involvement of a multitude of public and private organisations. Each year's parade will see the formation of a NDP EXCO which oversees various aspects of the parade, from the Parade & Ceremony to the Show, from SICUS (Seating, Invitation, Car parking, Ushering and Security) to Website & Publicity. The EXCO is formed by military personnels and is usually headed by the Commander of the organising division. Civilians also sit on the EXCO as representatives of the various public agencies involved.
Similarly, sponsorship comes from various public and private organisations to fund this multi million dollar production. This includes local organisations such as the Singapore Pools, Singapore Telecom, as well as multi national companies such as Volkswagen and Nokia. In recent years, sponsorship is divided into three categories depending on the amount of money pledged - Principal, Major and Co-sponsors/partners.
Trivial
- The parade was held during the monsoon season in 1968. Some participants and spectators in this parade discussed this issued after National Day Rally Speech in 2005.
- The funpack in 2005 was designed by students from Temasek polytechnic.
- The flashlights used in 2004 and 2005 are designed like handphones.
- The Presidential Gun Salute was fired inside the National Stadium in 1994 & 1997.
- The center stage used for the first time in 2003.
- A record of youths were taking part in 2004 parade.
- NDP 2007 will be held for the first time at Marina Bay.
- Our National stadium will host our nation's birthday[NDP 2006] for the very last time before our new National stadium is born.
See also
External links
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