Patricia Mok Hosting NDP For The 1st Time; Says She Was Hesitant About Accepting The Gig

This year’s National Day Parade will be an unforgettable one. For starters, the parade will be held on August 21, instead of August 9, after the end of P2HA. A ceremonial parade was instead held on the original date to mark Singapore's 56th year of independence.

In the latest episode of bite-sized Mediacorp series #JustSwipeLah, Star Search alum Jernelle Oh caught up with NDP 2021's four hosts, Patricia Mok, Eswari Gunasagar, Fauzie Laily and Joakim Gomez.

Patricia, 49, was already full of national pride even before the interview began, changing her Zoom background to the iconic Marina Bay Sands. And as she shared, this year will be her first time hosting the parade.

But instead of being say, excited, upon being offered the gig, Pat was a little hesitant.

“I had some worries ‘cos I’ve not hosted large-scale programmes for a long time, and this will be a live broadcast too,” she said.

“I felt that I was a little unfamiliar with [the job scope], so I needed some time to digest and consider the offer,” she added.

So what was the deciding factor then?

“I decided to take it up ‘cos I feel that 2021[’s parade] will be a very memorable NDP for me. So, I decided to challenge myself and take up the job,” she said.

Another host who was filled with doubt at the thought of taking up the offer was 31-year-old actress Eswari Gunasagar, but for a very different reason.

“I still remember receiving a message via Instagram [offering me the gig], and I actually thought it was a fake profile messaging me,” she laughed in her interview, adding that she thought someone was playing a prank on her.

But of course, it was very real, and just like Pat, she is very excited to be able to host the parade.

As for Fauzie Laily, 36, and Joakim Gomez, 33, who’ve both hosted the parade multiple times (eight times for Joakim, actually), the duo shared that they were looking forward to hosting for a live audience.

After all, last year’s parade did not have any live spectators.

NDP 2021 will be directed by acclaimed filmmaker Boo Junfeng, and will also feature performers like singer Inch Chua and pop duo The Freshmen.

Watch the full video below to find out what was their most memorable NDP experience.

Photos: JustSwipeLah/YouTube, Joakim Gomez/Instagram, Fauzie Laily/Instagram