SINGAPORE - This year's National Day Parade (NDP) will bring back old favourites and deliver new experiences, with the return of the combined schools choir and naval divers performing a free-fall jump for the first time in an NDP.
Singapore's 53rd National Day celebrations promise to be an evening of fireworks, dance performances and smiles. Here are seven highlights to look out for:
Return of the combined schools choir
After a five-year hiatus, the choir returns with performances jazzing up the parade and ceremony segment.
The choir comprises 220 students from East Spring, Riverside, Unity and Yuhua secondary schools.
President Halimah Yacob's first NDP
Singapore's first female president, Madam Halimah, will be attending her first NDP since taking on the role in September last year (2017).
Naval divers performing free-fall
For the first time in parade history, naval divers will perform a free-fall jump.
The soldiers, from the Republic of Singapore Navy's Naval Diving Unit, will drop 1,800m from a Super Puma helicopter before parachuting into the waters around the Marina Bay floating platform.
Film celebrating Singaporeans who overcame adversity
A 10-minute film telling the stories of five Singaporeans who overcame hardship will be shown. Among those featured is Madam Mary Klass, 83, who represented Singapore in athletics at the 1956 Olympics. Her father was opposed to her joining the sport.
Singapore mascots on show
Singa the Courtesy Lion and Sharity the Elephant will be on the stage to spread their messages of care, compassion and kindness.
Joining them are Teamy the Bee, who called for a more efficient workforce, Water Wally, who urged Singaporeans to save water, and Captain Green, the frog encouraging Singaporeans to adopt a clean and green lifestyle.
Performance by local a cappella band MICappella
In 2017, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong shared home-grown MICappella's medley of National Day songs on social media, describing their work as "ambitious".
The sextet will now be performing at an NDP for the first time. They will be singing a medley of 26 National Day songs, three more than their 2017 version.
Red Lions donning wing suits
This year, the Singapore Army's Red Lions will not just be free falling, they will be "flying" too.
For the first time in parade history, the 10-member team will be donning bright-red wing suits and will be making the display jump from a record height of 3,800m, the highest ever for an NDP.
