A lighter NDP funpack with dual-use items

SINGAPORE — At 1.5kg, this year’s funpack for spectators will be “one of the lightest” to be given out at a National Day Parade (NDP), with some items in the goodie bag made for more than one use, organisers said.

For example, the clap banner doubles up as a fan, and the handheld Singapore flag can be used as an LED light.

Last year, the bag weighed 1.8kg, and in 2015 — during the Republic’s 50th jubilee celebration — it was 2.5kg.

Unveiling this year’s funpack at a media briefing on Monday (July 17), Major Ang Kian Hoe, deputy chairman of the NDP’s logistics and finance committee, said that apart from reducing the weight, they also “tried to incorporate many functionalities into each item”.

“We learned from past experiences that spectators who go to the show have to wave the flag in one hand and another interactive item in the other, and won’t have a third hand to take photos. We tried to make it more convenient,” he said.

There are 20 items in the bag this year, including snacks, drinks, a booklet of discount vouchers, temporary face tattoos, a luggage tag and a commemorative keychain marking 50 years of National Service.

While the number of items this year are slightly more compared to the 18 items last year and in 2015, the organisers said that they have been trying to cut down on the contents in the pack.

In 2013 and 2014, there were 26 and 30 items respectively.

This year, the water-resistant bag — made of polyester satin — comes in either red or white and has a detachable pouch.

The design, by Lasalle College of the Arts students Riche Tay and Denise Richter, was picked from 60 submissions. The pair, who recently graduated from the design communications diploma course, spent about a month putting it together as part of a school project.

Mr Tay, 22, said: “We researched on upcoming trends for bags and wanted to make them trendy.”

The bag comes with a roll-up top to “make it compact” or for users to put more items in it depending on their needs, he added.

This year’s parade on Aug 9 returns to the Marina Bay Floating Platform after being held at the National Stadium last year. Spectators will have to collect their funpacks before they enter the grounds.

The bags will not be placed on their seats like at the parade last year. NDP organisers said that this is in case the bags get wet in bad weather.

A total of 150,000 funpacks will be distributed this year.