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, Singapore Police Force, Singapore Civil Defence Force, primary and secondary school uniformed groups and other community groups, followed by a cultural presentation featuring music, songs, dance displays, 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 celebrated annually ever since. 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.
The parade officially takes place on 9 August, with public "preview" performances (with one, the "National Education Show", hosting invited students of Singapore schools) beginning as early as mid-June. Due to their high demand, tickets for the NDP and its previews have been distributed via an electronic lottery system since 2003.
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 tenure at the Padang due to the reconstruction of The Float as the permanent NS Square, while a second edition at the new National Stadium was announced for 2026.
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, organisers began to hold the "National Education Show"—a rehearsal of the parade for an audience of invited school students; the event is intended to provide students with an opportunity to attend at least one NDP.
The 1999 edition, which was the last parade of the century, was the first parade to feature live orchestral music performing for the entire show for the first time by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of American conductor Bart Folse, which was the main music provider for that edition. The orchestra performed one of the songs at the parade such as the 1812 Overture which was played to fireworks at the end, as well as the event's theme song, "Together" (performed by Evelyn Tan and Dreamz FM, together with the 594-strong combined schools choir from various schools in Singapore in which they were the official choir for that year's parade with the SSO as the official orchestra for the parade as well), and a medley of National Day songs from 1984, 1986, 1998, and 1987. The orchestra would later return 8 years later in 2007 as part of the 240-member NDP 2007 Orchestra along with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra, the Malay and Indian ensembles, the Singapore Armed Forces Band, and the SYC Ensemble Singers.
Due to the event's popularity, Singaporeans often lined up in overnight queues for a chance to obtain tickets to the NDP and its preview events; in 1993, the Special Operations Command had to be sent in to control overcrowding at one distribution site, and scalping became common by the mid-1990s due to both high demand and the Asian financial crisis. In 2002, organisers attempted to control crowds by not revealing the distribution sites in advance, but this did not alleviate crowding once the locations became known. In 2003, to rectify these issues, organisers adopted an electronic "ballot" system for tickets, in which residents register online or with a phone number for a chance to receive parade tickets. The new system was not without its initial problems, including tickets being left unclaimed due to applicants providing incorrect phone numbers, and the registration website having difficulties coping with the large amount of traffic.
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 × (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.