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No balloting for NDP 2021 tickets, only Covid-19 front-line workers to be invited as spectators

SINGAPORE — Fully vaccinated workers on the frontlines fighting against Covid-19 will be invited as spectators of the National Day Parade (NDP), which returns to The Float@Marina Bay this year.

The Red Lions saluting healthcare workers outside Sengkang General Hospital on Singapore's National Day on Aug 9, 2020.

The Red Lions saluting healthcare workers outside Sengkang General Hospital on Singapore's National Day on Aug 9, 2020.

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SINGAPORE — Fully vaccinated workers on the frontlines fighting against Covid-19 will be invited as spectators of the National Day Parade (NDP), which returns to The Float@Marina Bay this year.

This means that there will not be any balloting of NDP tickets for other members of the public.

Those who served in essential roles such as healthcare workers, teachers, transport workers, hawkers and those in the cleaning industry, or are community volunteers who have stepped up to help fellow Singaporeans during the pandemic will be among those invited.

These details were announced at a press conference by the NDP 2021 executive committee on Friday (July 2), where they also revealed the theme, logo, theme song and music video for this year’s parade and show.

Brigadier-General Tan Cheng Kwee, chairman of the committee, said that the team is still working out the details of how many front-line workers to invite to the parade. 

“Past NDPs typically have a capacity of 25,000. But this year, owing to the need to have safe distancing for our spectators, we will not be able to accommodate that number,” he said.

“You will also know that in the past year, the national guidelines have restricted large-scale events to the order of hundreds, maybe a maximum of 1,000 attendees for some pilot events. We're still waiting for the decision on the guidelines in the next phase, from our Ministry of Health colleagues.”

He said he remains hopeful that by the time the NDP is held, Singapore will be able to hold large-scale spectator events.

“The NDP probably will be paving the way forward, because it is happening at the right time to be the first large-scale event moving into the new normal in an endemic Covid-19 situation,” he said.

Last month, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong, who co-chairs the multi-ministry task force handling Singapore’s response to Covid-19, said that two-thirds of the population will have been inoculated against the coronavirus by National Day on Aug 9, and this will allow the Government to further loosen health and safety restrictions.

When asked about the NDP fun packs this year, Brigadier-General Tan said that they will only be given out to spectators, with the number of items in the packs being reduced from previous years. The pack will include a reusable bottle, hand sanitisers and a mini handheld Singapore flag.

Last year, each Singaporean and permanent resident household were able to collect one NDP 2020 Singapore Together Pack from community centres or clubs and residents' committees.

Even though the public will not be able to ballot for tickets to watch the parade live this year, there will be events in the heartlands, Brigadier-General Tan said.

On Aug 7 and 8, the weekend leading up to National Day, the Red Lions will conduct freefall jumps over various heartland sites.

On National Day itself, the state flag will be flown over the heartlands with fighter aircraft from the Republic of Singapore Air Force flying in formation. 

That evening, fireworks will be set off at heartland sites across the island.

More details will be released at a later date.

This year's NDP theme is “Together, Our Singapore Spirit”, which “calls on Singaporeans to reinvigorate the Singapore Spirit and spur ourselves on, to overcome setbacks and build a stronger Singapore”, the NDP 2021 executive committee said in a press release. 

The logo, featuring a lion, was conceptualised by Nanyang Polytechnic student Tan Yun Xin and represents Singapore’s strength of will and unity, the committee said.

This year’s NDP song, titled The Road Ahead, was written and composed by Singapore artistes Linying and Evan Low. It is performed by musicians Linying, Sezairi Sezali, Shye-Anne Brown and Shabir. 

WHAT TO EXPECT ON NATIONAL DAY

Singaporeans who are not at The Float@Marina Bay on National Day will be able to watch the parade live-streamed on television. 

Both the parade and show segments have been designed with the home audience in mind, the executive committee said. This means that there will be TV-exclusive special effects and a mix of live performances and animated short films.

This year’s parade will also feature the first ever live virtual performances at an NDP, in which some participants will join the parade via virtual means, as the overall capacity for participants performing live at The Float will be reduced by 70 per cent.

Traditional elements such as the Colours Party and other familiar contingents such as those from the Singapore Armed Forces and the Home Team will continue to feature. Civilian entities and other uniformed groups will take part virtually.

Related topics

National Day Parade National Day fun pack healthcare workers frontline Covid-19

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