SINGAPORE — The Government would “certainly be open” to holding the National Day Parade (NDP) at the Singapore Sports Hub again, with costs being less of a prohibitive factor after the takeover of the venue at the end of this year by national sports agency Sport Singapore.

Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, said this on Monday (Aug 1) in reply to Member of Parliament Darryl David from Ang Mo Kio Group Representation Constituency, about whether there were plans to commit to a more regular schedule of having the NDP held at the Sports Hub. 

Mr Tong added: "What this taking back of the ownership and management of the Sports Hub is designed to do is to give us more flexibility and the ability to not let costs, which was otherwise a serious prohibitive factor, constrain the organisation of events like NDP at the Sports Hub."

The Sports Hub was the venue for the NDP in 2016, the only year the parade was held at the 55,000-capacity National Stadium there. However, there were hiccups involving the costs of running the parade at the hub. 

It was reported in 2015 that the NDP organisers were told to pay S$26 million when they wanted to lease the venue for an extra 35 days for rehearsals, but after negotiations between owner Sports Hub Private Limited and the Government, this sum was lowered to S$10 million.

In the end, it cost S$39.4 million to put the parade together, with the bill for the venue making up 15 per cent of the total sum. Past parades held at The Float@Marina Bay cost between S$15.7 million and S$17.9 million.

In future, even if there may be increased flexibility to hold the parade at the Sports Hub, it is not going to be just a one-day event and the Government will still need to be mindful of using the venue too frequently, Mr Tong said.

"(We) also want to be circumspect about having it there every year or even every other year, because there is a five- to seven-month lead time before and after (the parade), where many of the facilities will have to be decked up for rehearsals and can't be used," he added. 

"So you've to think about it in terms of the programming that we want to do for the Sports Hub, the availability and the options around how to organise the NDP at the Sports Hub."

Mr Tong added in a ministerial statement earlier on Monday that the plans for the parade over the next few years were not out yet.

"But regardless, Sports Hub will be a place where all of us — both young and old — will be able to build treasured memories and meaningful shared experiences."

Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said last month that the NDP will be held at the Padang next year, but added that in 2024, he would like the parade to be held at the Sports Hub. 

"And now that management is more predictable and stabilised, I think we will be able to do it," Dr Ng said then.