SG50 Weekend: NDP 2015 Preview (Aug 2015)

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Saturday, 1st August 2015

Majulah Singapura, our Golden Jubilee. This year marks our 50th Anniversary since independence and we were really happy to be given tickets to attend the parade at the Padang this evening.

We arrived at Raffles Place at 3 in the afternoon for an early dinner at Coffee Club Glasshouse before proceeding to the Padang at 4.30pm. Crowds were streaming in from all corners of Singapore by then. After going through the security screening and collecting our fun-packs, we were seated at the stand at around 5pm. Our seats were located at the East Sector - great for the views over City Hall but bad for viewing the fire-works.

The fun-pack had some useful stuffs this year including a food container and a scarf for me to bring overseas when the weather is cold. What I really loved about this year's NDP was a sort of reunion for the young and old.

The Silent Precision Drills performed by the Military Police brought back memories of myself performing at the very same Padang field 15 years ago during the Millennium NDP in 2000. The Singapore Air A380 fly-past was fantastic as it hovered through the Marina Bay at low altitude. I really loved the vintage parade to see our pioneers in old-school uniforms marching proudly as the crowds gave them their loudest cheer.

Even the mass display was engaging and we were pleasantly surprised to see Stephanie Sun in action performing one of our favourite NDP songs. This was like a mini-concert as she was soon joined by JJ Lim and Kit Chan during the closing segments.

This was one of the best NDP parades I had ever attended. Even though we could only hear the fireworks from where we were seated, we were kept engaged throughout the 3-hour performance. And even though this was only a preview of the grand finale on 9th August, we thoroughly enjoyed our evening at the Padang today.

Happy 50th Birthday, Singapore. Majulah Singapura, our Golden Jubilee.

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