Instead of the tens of thousands of spectators in past years, this year's National Day Parade (NDP) will have just around 150 spectators who are "representatives of society", said Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen yesterday.
NDP2020 will be broken down into two segments, with a morning parade and ceremony held at the Padang, the site of Singapore's first NDP in 1966, and an evening show at The Star Performing Arts Centre.
There will be around 50 representatives of the Government, including ministers, watching the morning parade and about 100 members of the public as spectators.
Those watching the parade will be seated in three sections of about 50 people each, to prevent intermingling. It will be the same for the evening show.
Participant numbers have also been dropped to about 300 this year for both events combined. This is down from the usual 5,000 to 6,000 people in past years.
"There's a careful balance to be struck," said Dr Ng. For this year's NDP, obviously, one cannot have the usual combined show, parade and ceremony components, participants numbering in the thousands and spectators numbering in the tens of thousands, he added.
Those dancing and singing will do so without masks on, but Dr Ng said all have been exercising "strict discipline in terms of cohorting" with extra precautions in place.
Performers will take two swab tests with one done just before the show, to ensure they are free from Covid-19. During practice, when they are not wearing masks, they have to keep 1m to 2m away from one another.
"So far, so good. They've kept themselves free from infection but we're always monitoring," said Dr Ng.
Singapore has not missed hosting the NDP to celebrate its independence. The first was held in 1966.
Even a severe downpour in 1968 did not deter the more than 1,000 participants in 81 contingents at the Padang, with founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew waving off the offer of an umbrella.
In 2003, amid the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak that claimed 33 lives in Singapore, the NDP was held at the National Stadium with the crowd paying tribute to healthcare workers.
Dr Ng had previously said Singaporeans should celebrate National Day this year amid the challenges, and that Singapore's founding generations held the NDP to signify the collective confidence in the future.
