Singapore National Day parade

The National Day Parade (NDP) is an annual parade held in Singapore to commemorate its independence. Held annually on 9 August, it is the main public celebration of National Day, and consists of a parade incorporating contingents of the Singapore Armed Forces, Ministry of Home Affairs, local institutions and community groups, followed by a cultural presentation featuring music, dance displays, parachuters, and a fireworks show.

First held on 9 August 1966 to mark the one-year anniversary of Singapore's declaration of independence from Malaysia, it has been held annually since then. The parade had historically been held at the Padang, but were occasionally held at the former National Stadium, and in a "decentralised" format across the country to encourage wider public participation. Beginning in 1984, the Padang began to host the parade on a regular cycle (initially once every three years, and then every five years beginning 1995) and during all years marking anniversaries of national significance, with the event otherwise hosted by the National Stadium.

With the closure of National Stadium in 2007, it would be replaced in the rotation by The Float @ Marina Bay—a temporary, floating venue on Marina Bay designed to host events of national importance while the new National Stadium was under construction. Even with the completion of the new stadium, it would only host the parade once in 2016, after which The Float was designated as the event's "primary" venue. In 2023, the parade began a three-year tenure at the Padang due to the reconstruction of The Float as NS Square.

In the last decade, the National Day Parade has turn into a multi-weekend, month long extravaganza with combined rehearsals starting up to seven weeks before 9th August, beginning as early as the last weekend of June. This includes a series of National Education Shows for Primary 5 students, followed by two preview shows, complete with pyrotechnics and fireworks.

These full-scale, replica productions every weekend allow for up to 300,000 Singaporeans to participate as a spectator at one of the parades, with tens of thousands more around Marina Bay taking in the weekly aerial flypast and fireworks display each Saturday evening.

History
Singapore celebrated its first National Day as an independent nation in 1966, one year after Singapore's separation from Malaysia on 9 August 1965.

The inaugural National Day Parade was started in the morning at 9:00 a.m. that day. However, people came as early as 7:00 a.m. in order to get good vantage points. Singapore's first President, Yusof bin Ishak and Singapore's first Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, were seated with members of the government at the grandstand on the steps of City Hall. When the parade began, six military contingents (including the Singapore Infantry Regiment, Singapore People's Defense Force, the Volunteer Naval Reserve and PDF-Sea and the then Republic of Singapore Police), a mobile column from the SIR, and various schools and civil contingents marched past City Hall and then into the city streets. Three military bands accompanied the parade inspection and later the march past with military music. The Singapore Fire Brigade also took part in this first parade with its firetrucks included in the mobile column. Rounding it all was a massed lion and dragon dance performance from drum and dragon troupes nationwide.

In 1967, the contingents increased to 76, including those of the then established Singapore Armed Forces, the RSP and more cultural groups, with the addition of more civil marching groups. The reason is partly due to the introduction of the National Service program in the military and police forces, and later extended to the Fire Brigade (Renamed to Singapore Fire Services in the 1980s). Street performances by various groups and choirs also debuted in that year's parade. The 1968 parade, although held on a rainy morning that surprised even the marching contingents and the dignitaries, saw the first ground performances on the Padang as the weather improved – a prelude to today's show performances. 1969's parade, the one where the Mobile Column made its first drivepast, commemorated the 150th year of the city's founding and had Princess Alexandra of the UK as principal guest.

The fifth NDP edition in 1970 introduced the Flypast of the State Flag and the Republic of Singapore Air Force Flypast, as well as the combat simulation performance by Singapore Army personnel was one of the new highlights for that year.

The 1971 NDP included iconic mobile parade floats from various organizations, 1973 was the first parade to be held from late-afternoon to early-evening time in order to promote the parade with better attendance and marked the official debut of the 1st Commando Battalion. The 1974 parade was the first domestic television programme to be broadcast in colour by Channel 5, following a previous pilot broadcast of the FIFA World Cup final.

In 1975, to commemorate the Decennial anniversary of independence, the Parade was, for the first time, decentralised into 13 parade venues for more public participation. Almost all of the venues lasted for an hour and all of them even had route marches on the streets to the participating venues.

By the time the NDP was held at the National Stadium (for the first time) in 1976, the NDP Guard of Honour, composed of officers and personnel of the SAF and the Singapore Police Force made its first appearance, followed after the parade proper by the first evening presentations by various groups, a prelude to future evening NDPs in 1980 and from 1984 onward. The 1976 parade dance performers were mostly female students from the country's schools, since that year marked the start of the United Nations Decade for Women. 1977's parade was a decentralised event like two years before (and like 1968's was affected by wet weather) while 1978 returned to Padang. 1979's parade saw another decentralised site, this time being held in many high schools and sports stadiums nationwide. The decentralised format would later be used until 1983, which was the final time NDP was held in multiple venues until 2020.

The 15th installment in 1980 was the first parade to introduce the feu de joie of the Guard-of-Honour contingents. The following year, SPF Civil Defense Command, presently the Singapore Civil Defense Force, later combined with the SFS in 1989, made its inaugural appearance, followed by the SCDF in 1982. The 1981 parade was held in both Jurong and Queenstown Sports Stadiums for further increase public attendance and participation in the celebrations. In 1982, the parade returned at Padang, marking the first time the mobile column drove past after the marchpast had concluded, thus making it a predecessor to the parades at the Padang from 1995 onward, once every five years.

The 1984 installment featured many firsts in commemoration with the Singapore's Silver Jubilee of self-governance, which for the first time, introduced a theme song "Stand Up for Singapore", and included a bigger Mobile Column, the first appearance of the popular Silent Precision Drill Squad from the Singapore Armed Forces Military Police Command and the first evening fireworks display.

The 1986 edition was the first parade held in the late evening, and the first to use flashlights for audience use. Other introductions were featured over the years such as the first appearance of the massed military bands of the SAF (1987), the card stunt (1988), and the Red Lions parachute team and the daylight fireworks (1989). In 1989, the parade was held in the afternoon but the 1991 edition returned to the evening format used since 1986.

In 1993, interactive participation by the public debuted in that year's edition to increase public participation and awareness of the parade as an important part of Singaporean life and as a symbol of national unity and identity. In 1997, a National Education Show was also introduced where Primary Five students from a selected number of schools attended in one of the rehearsals.

In 2003, due to overcrowding of tickets, the electronic ballot ticketing system was introduced as a countermeasure, and a ballot was conducted where citizens stand a chance at winning the tickets by registering their e-mail addresses or mobile numbers such as the NDP websites or phone lines.

In 2005 and 2010, aside from the main parade being at the Padang, it was also held at the heartland areas. On 16 October 2005, it was announced that due to the planned closure and replacement of the National Stadium as part of the Singapore Sports Hub project, the parade would be held there for the last time in 2006, and would move to The Float at Marina Bay—a temporary 27,000-seat grandstand and 130 m × 100 m (430 ft × 330 ft) floating platform in Marina Bay —for 2007. Despite offering a seating capacity almost less than half the capacity of the National Stadium, there was a vast area for approximately 150,000 additional spectators along the Marina Bay waterfront.

The 2013 installment featured a spin-off reality competition aired on Channel 5, titled Sing a Nation, which featured ten different groups who performed various songs for a chance at a lead performance for the 2013's parade. The 2013's theme song, "One Singapore", was also sung by the cast of Sing a Nation, and the song featured its largest ensemble, with 68 members.

The 2014 installment also featured its first female Red Lion parachutist to jump at the NDP, Third Warrant Officer Shirley Ng, after their initial performance in 2013 was cancelled due to weather conditions. The 2014 parade was notable as it was the last parade with the attendance for the first prime minister Lee Kuan Yew, who was the only member to have attended in every installment of NDP since 1966, as he died on 23 March the following year.

For 2015, portions of the festivities were held at Marina Bay, with screens simulcasting the parade at the Padang (held as part of the traditional five-year cycle, and to mark the 50th anniversary of independence), and the fireworks scheduled to be held at Marina Bay and the Marina Reservoir.

In 2016, the NDP was held for the first time at the new National Stadium, in an event that required modifications to the parade's format due to the limitations of the venue. After returning to the venue for 2017, in October 2017 it was announced that The Float would remain the "primary" venue of the NDP when not held at the Padang every five years, and would be redeveloped as a permanent venue known as NS Square. The decision raised questions over whether the costs of renting the National Stadium would diminish the legacy that the former National Stadium had as a site for community events. Contrarily, it was argued that not hosting the NDP at the new National Stadium would free up its schedule for major international sporting events, especially during the summer months.

The 2019 parade would be held at the Padang to commemorate the bicentennial of the founding of modern Singapore. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore, the 2020 parade was replaced by a series of broadcast-only events, beginning with the Prime Minister's National Day Message and a downsized parade at the Padang. Appearances by the Mobile Column, Red Lions, and flyovers by F-15SG fighters were scheduled across Singapore, while the traditional Funpacks given at the parade were shipped to each resident. Online programming, home activity ideas, and social media campaigns were also organized. A cultural segment took place at the Star Performing Arts Centre in the evening, reduced to only around 100 performers with social distancing enforced. The organizers stated that they wanted to bring the event "across the island into every Singaporean's home".

In July 2021, it was announced that the 2021 parade would return to The Float in a downsized form. The event would be closed to the public and capped at 30% capacity, with tickets provided exclusively to "everyday heroes". All attendees were required to be fully-vaccinated for COVID-19 and test negative. On 22 July 2021, due to the temporary reimplementation of Phase 2 "Heightened Alert" restrictions, it was announced that the parade would be postponed to 21 August 2021. A closed "ceremonial" parade would be held on 9 August at The Float, which was stated to be similar in format to the previous year's parade.

It was announced that the 2022 parade would return to full capacity, with a goal to "involve as many Singaporeans" as possible. Some safety protocols would remain in place, such as a requirement for all attendees over 12 years of age, and all performers, to be fully-vaccinated. The parade would be the last edition held at The Float before its reconstruction as NS Square (which was expected to begin construction in 2023, and be completed by 2026); the 2023 parade would be held at the Padang, and plans were discussed to possibly hold the parade at National Stadium again in 2024. In September 2023, it was announced that the parade would continue to be held at the Padang for 2024 and 2025, with these two editions marking the 40th anniversary of Total Defence and 60th anniversary of Singapore's independence respectively. Both parades are expected to include satellite events in Marina Bay and the heartland.

NDP editions
A historic venue for the parade has been The Padang, the site where Singapore's independence was declared. In 1976, the parade was held for the first time at the National Stadium, whose larger capacity allowed for more to view the parade live.

Although offering about 60,000 seats in the National Stadium, the demand for tickets remained high, resulting in several attempts to decentralise the event to bring the celebration closer to more Singaporeans. From 1975 to 1983, the NDP alternated between a decentralised event and one centred at the Padang or National Stadium. From 1984, the parade was held at the Padang every three years, with all other editions held at the National Stadium. This three-year cycle continued until 1994, when it switched to a five-year cycle beginning 1995. An exception came in 2019, when the NDP was held at the Padang to mark Singapore's bicentennial, and in 2023, where a series of three consecutive parades at the Padang began due to the construction of NS Square (including one held in 2025 per the five-year cycle).

The Padang, although historically important, posed a greater logistical challenge and also offered fewer seats for spectators. The event and rehearsals also required the closing of surrounding roads. There was a need to construct temporary spectator stands around the field. The site, however, was the only feasible venue for the mobile column, as the heavy vehicles could not be driven onto the stadium track. The Padang was used as the main performance venue for the 2005 parade, with other activities held in Marina South, Jurong East, Yishun and Tampines. Several alternate locations were mooted, including the utilization of the Padang, which is physically bigger and less likely to disrupt daily functions in the city. In 2010, the Padang was used again as the main performance with other activities held at Bishan, Eunos, Woodlands, Sengkang and Choa Chu Kang

Logos
Since 1998, a unique logo design was selected to represent NDP on all fronts (including social media). Even though there had been logos for some previous years' parades, the logos were used exclusively for years of special commemoration, such as silver jubilee of Nation Building (1984) and Independence (1990). Slogans have also been used, such as "Our Singapore, Our Future", first used in the 1997 celebrations.

With the introduction of NDP logos for 1998, every logo henceforth would be designed to suit the themes, in particular the foundation theme of the parade for the year. A tagline, which was previously known as a slogan, was usually added to the logo design. An example was in 2005, where the tagline for NDP 2005 was "The Future is Ours to Make", was placed on the theme "40 Years of Nation Building". 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.

Most of the logos use a majority of red colour, however in 2007, blue has taken over the traditional red to symbolise the water around the Marina Bay area. Regardless, the logos are important to note that the themes and taglines are largely different; and it is the theme that the parade or Show segment, on in some cases (2009 and 2015), both will be based on.

National Day songs
Under 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 segment, or since 2008, forming the final part of the display.

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 the mass displays during the show part of the celebrations. 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 (English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil) will be performed. In previous years, the final song in English (before the President's arrival) has always been the NDP theme song (in 2007 this was not the case) while in NDP 2008, all the songs performed in the P&C segment (in between arrivals) were all previous NDP theme songs in recent years. (The song tradition would return in 2017, but only in the pre-parade portion and in a different language order, while past theme songs were played during the arrivals.) The music performed during the parades have evolved over the decades, reflecting not just the change of musical influences and styles, but also the country's multi-ethnic character.

The 2010 P&C songs were three in number, due to the fact that the arrival of the Parliament deputies happened before the parade, and were unique because all the songs sung were in English (one song even had lyrics in the three other major languages).

In 2011, there was the "Fun Pack Song" which went along to the tune of Lady Gaga's 'Bad Romance'. The song was shortly scrapped.

The 2013's medley saw a record number of NDP songs that featured in this medley, with ten and lasted about five-and-a-half minutes: "Stand Up For Singapore", "We Will Get There", "What Do You See", "One United People", "Turn Up The Love" (not including NDP songs), "Home", "One People, One Nation, One Singapore", "Count On Me Singapore", "We Are Singapore" and "One Singapore" (that year's theme song).

In 2014, it was announced that there would be no new songs produced for National Day for the 2nd time in its long history, and in a historic move by the organizing committee, the classic NDP songs will be sung again. That year's edition saw past NDP theme songs being played during the arrival segments, and broke tradition by having the Sing Singapore Medley sung as the epilogue after the national anthem was played. The Sing Singapore Medley finale was repeated again in the 2015 event, after the Pledge Moment ends. Both cases have now included the 1998 theme song "Home" as part of the medley, just as it was the case in 2013.

2016 will see the medley also accompanied by special needs students provided by the seven Voluntary Welfare Organisations of the island country hand-signing for the deaf and hard of hearing who will take part, yet another first. The 1998 theme "Home" was sung as well. (Since 1989, a deaf Representative has been present to sign the Pledge for deaf viewers of the event.)

The 2023 medley included in a departure from the past the theme songs from 2021 and 2022.

Theme songs
NDP Theme songs were first introduced in 1984, starting with "Stand Up for Singapore", and again in the 1985 Parade; "Count on Me Singapore" which was performed by Clement Chow at the 1986 Parade. Other notable songs include "We are Singapore" (1987–1988) and "One People, One Nation, One Singapore" (1990).

Theme songs were not prominent in the parades of the 1990s until 1998 when "Home", a song composed by Dick Lee and sung by Kit Chan. That year's parade feature "Home" and one more NDP song, "City For The World", sung by the children choir. Its popularity led to the production of the various renditions in 2004, including a rock piece composed by JJ Lin. 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 part of Sing Singapore theme song. Stefanie Sun's "One United People" was used as the 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.

Before 2007, 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 the Mediacorp TV network (save for CNA) a month before National Day and on the official NDPeeps YouTube channel and Facebook page; the songs will also be played on local radio stations. Legal MP3 downloads are also available on the NDP website from 2010 onwards.

Local songbirds that made it big in regional music scenes, such as Kaira Gong, Kit Chan, Corrine May, Stefanie Sun and Tanya Chua have been invited back home to perform various National Day theme songs. The winner of Singapore Idol 2004, Taufik Batisah, became a prominent choice to lead the nation in singing the NDP 2005's theme song "Reach Out for the Skies", alongside singer-actress Rui En.

In 2007, there were two theme songs instead of the usual one. 2009 was the last time a Chinese rendition of the English song was featured.

In 2013, the National Day Parade theme song will not be sung by renowned local artists but, for the first time, by fellow Singaporeans that join the "Sing A Nation" reality-competition organized by MediaCorp for that year's event.

It would be in 2014 when the NDP will not have another official theme song in a break from tradition for the second time, due to criticism of the past two NDP theme songs. In place of the theme song was three songs were remade into two music videos: "We Will Get There" and "One People, One Nation, One Singapore" sung by Ann Hussein, Rahimah Rahim, Gayle Nerva, Farisha Ishak, Tay Kewei and Tabitha Nauser; and "What Do You See" sung by Fauzie Laily, Jack Ho, Kartik Kunasegaran, Sivadorai "Rai" Sellakannu and Shaun Jansen. Dick Lee's 1996 song, "Big Island", debuted during the show segment of the parade.

The theme song tradition would return in the 2015 installment with a new song, "Our Singapore".

The 2018's parade features a remake of "We Are Singapore" while the 2019's parade remade "Our Singapore", the 2015 theme song, as its theme song.

In 2020, a new theme song was composed, "Everything I Am" sung by Nathan Hartono. The most recent installment to feature an original theme song is 2024's "Not Alone", sung by Benjamin Kheng and the SAF Music and Drama Company Singers.

The list of NDP theme songs are as follows:


 * Table Key

Chinese version Remake of original music  Recognised as a patriotic song


 * 1) Also used in the 1985 parade.
 * 2) The MTV versions were choral renditions performed by Young Voices, which comprises the choirs from the Tanjong Katong Girls' School and Tampines Primary School.

National Songs' Role In Nation Building
National songs are taught in schools and are also broadcast on national television. The communal singing of songs was used by the government of the time to unite the country. A National Folks Song Committee was launched in 1980 to achieve this aim. National Day theme songs are a subset of national songs.

National Day theme songs have been used by the government to define what it means to be Singaporean. The Singaporean work ethic is described as the key factor for the country's success with calls for Singaporeans to emulate the hard work of past generations in "Stand Up For Singapore" (1984) and "Count On Me Singapore" (1986). The unity of Singaporeans, in spite of their race and religion, is also highlighted by imagery that seeks to bring the country together, such as through the collective 'lion's roar' in the lyrics of "We Are Singapore" (1987).

National Day theme songs reflect Singapore's progress over time and retell the story of Singapore's rapid economic progress from "third-world" to "first-world". Songs from 1959 to 1983 reflect an attempt by the government to define a national identity. Between 1984 and 1996, the government sought to fully define and propagate the country's national identity. "We Are Singapore" (1987) included the lyrics "There was a time when people said that Singapore won't make it, but we did. There was a time when troubles seemed to much to take, but we did. We built a nation strong and free..." to increase pride in Singaporeans and reinforce the story of Singapore's economic progress. Songs from the 1990s to the 2010s reflect the increased educational status and cultural capital of Singaporeans by relying on lyrics that are less overtly patriotic. "Love At First Light" (2012) had no mention of the word "Singapore" in its lyrics.

National Day theme songs seek to define Singapore's future and serve as a call to action. "Home" (1998) reinforced the image of Singapore's place in an increasingly globalized world. It sought to reach out to Singaporeans living overseas to return home because Singapore is 'where my dreams wait for me, where the river always flows". The 1999 theme song "Together", was named as a reference to the title of the country's Vision Statement of that period. The music video of "Stand Up For Singapore" (2000) paints the picture of a progressive Singapore as the four lead singers — all under the age of thirty — danced in Mass Rapid Transit stations and the rooftop of a skyscraper. The 2009 theme song "What Do You See?" was the first song performed by an indie rock band.

A survey conducted by the Lee Kuan Yew Centre For Innovative Cities in 2021 found songs released prior to 2000 to be more popular with Singaporeans. These songs focused on the themes of dreams, home and nation building.

NDP funpack
Funpacks was introduced in 1991, which contains goodies which distribution varies every year. These goodies include food, drinks, vouchers from various participating companies and sponsors, items and commodities intended for the use during the parade, such as a theme-designed torchlight and the Singapore flag. Most funpacks are designed by students from local polytechnics and community services, although an exception happened 2015, where people from all walks of life designed 50 designs for the funpack, which also include a Singa Lion Figurine, some snacks and games.

Most of the years, the funpacks were also packed by selected members of the armed forces. In 2009, they were packed by prisoners through the Yellow Ribbon Project. In 2015, a similar funpack, the 'SG Funpack', which came in 50 designs, was given out to every Singaporean and permanent resident household.

In 2019, the funpacks were redesigned to be more environmentally-friendly.