FULLY charged - that's the atmosphere at any National Day Parade.

From the minute people started streaming in, to the second the last firework died out, the crowd was on a high. The parade hosts rode on this emotion to rally the 27,000-strong audience.

Singapore's favourite 'Ah Beng', actor Mark Lee, found the crowd loving his opener: a rib-tickling skit in Singlish and Hokkien.

An irreverent take on the story of Sang Nila Utama discovering the island of Singapore, the skit aimed to keep spirits high, said the host.

Also helping out were 400 motivators from Touch Community, a non-profit organisation.

Made up of youth from the polytechnics, secondary schools and the Institute of Technical Education, they egged the audience onto their feet to sing and dance.

The way to do it, said Mohamed Fizifirdaus Bmp, 18, was to set an example: 'I believe in motivating them to get into the mood by dancing and singing myself. They must feel my energy.'

Two elderly sisters, watching the parade for the first time, were clearly motivated. Madam Chong Yoke Chin, 83, and her sister Cheong May Chin, 77, stood through half of the two-hour show. 'The weather was very hot, but we were still very excited,' said Madam Cheong.

At various points in the show, the excitement became even more pitched. The sight of the Red Lions skydiving sent the audience into a tizzy.

First Warrant Officer Simon Kang, who made his last jump as a Red Lion, said he was thrilled when he saw the excited faces of the audience as he landed. This 'top of the world' feeling kept the other 6,000 performers on a high.

Classical Indian dancer Vanessa Raj Kumar, 19, who was in a cube on the ninth storey of one of the grid towers, said: 'From where I was, the audience looked like a sea of red and the flashing lights of the cameras looked like diamonds.'

Even after the parade, a group of 26 budding journalists from 22 countries stayed on to party.

Tessa Ramburn, 16, from Mauritius, said: 'Even though I'm not Singaporean, I could really feel the pride of Singaporeans in their country when they said the Pledge together.'