NDP celebrations kick off at the Padang despite earlier downpour

SINGAPORE – Faces lit with excitement, streams of people dressed in red and white were greeted by live music and cheers as they walked into 2024’s extended National Day Parade (NDP) celebrations on Aug 9.

With the sun reflecting off the bay, attendees at The Promontory @ Marina Bay held their umbrellas and wore sunglasses, singing along to covers by a cappella group [Placeholder], not allowing the heat to dull their excitement.

Then at about 4.45pm, heavy rain fell over The Promontory @ Marina Bay and the Padang. However, most of the attendees braved the rain under their umbrellas, in anticipation of the parade.

The celebrations at the Padang kicked off at about 5.30pm.

About 27,000 spectators are expected to be at the Padang, where the main celebrations are taking place.

Mr Dinesh Kummaran, 43, who was attending the parade with eight other friends and family members, said they were caught off guard by the downpour at about 4.50pm.

Speaking to The Straits Times outside the parade venue as the rain continued to pour, Mr Dinesh, who works in tech sales, said: “We are very concerned that we will not get the full experience of the parade.”

The group ended up using the ponchos in the NDP funpacks as they did not have umbrellas.

“We were too optimistic that it wouldn’t rain. But we cannot let it dampen our spirits,” Mr Dinesh added.

An estimated 7,500 people are gathered at The Promontory @ Marina Bay, with official festivities spilling over to the open space near the Marina Bay Financial Centre for the first time.

Spirits remained high as attendees put on pink and transparent ponchos, unfazed by the rain.

Primary school teachers Lai Hui Ru, 25, and Yeoh Eng Yue, 24, stayed at their spot even as the rain poured down and drenched their clothes.

“We have umbrellas, so we will wait here until we get to see the fireworks,” said Ms Lai, adding that that was what she was most looking forward to.

It is their first time attending any form of NDP celebration.

Mr Desmond Tan, 39, was caught in the rain the moment he laid down his picnic mat.

The chemistry teacher, who came with three of his friends, said: “Everybody looked okay, nobody left, even when the rain started.

“This shows that we are a resilient people.”

Earlier in the day, university students Andrea Joseph, Rachel Chin and Kanika Selvapandian had arrived for the celebrations prepared, with cooling wipes, battery-powered fans, umbrellas, and snacks strewn over their red-and-white picnic mat.

The trio, who have been friends since secondary school, said that the celebration at the bay held sentimental value for them.

“We used to really look forward to NDP celebrations in school, and now that we’re in university, we don’t get to celebrate like this any more,” Ms Joseph said.

At about 6.50pm, everyone at The Promontory stood up to sing the National Anthem, which was synchronised with the state flag fly-past.

As President Tharman Shanmugaratnam reviewed the parade at the Padang, Singaporeans at The Promontory ran towards the edge of the bay to catch a glimpse of the presidential gun salute – a military honour where guns are fired 21 times in a salute to the President.

They were also treated to a parade bomb burst performed by F-16 fighter jets – part of the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s flying display.

The audience later rose to their feet when Police Coast Guard patrol craft raced across the waters of Marina Bay and closed in on “intruders” in a black speedboat.

Divers from the Naval Diving Unit also went underwater to detonate a simulated “bomb” dropped by the “intruders”.

For Mr Koh Hua Tong, 60, and his wife, it was the first time in almost 20 years that they were attending an NDP celebration in person. It was way back in the 1990s when they attended the parade at the former Singapore National Stadium in Kallang.

The couple had surveyed the area about two weeks earlier to decide on the “almost perfect” angle from which to catch the fireworks, and arrived at 2.30pm to secure a spot at the waterfront.

The technical manager said he is looking forward to basking in the festive atmosphere of the parade and enjoying the fireworks from a spot with a view that was hard to come by.

Organised by the National Trades Union Congress, the extended celebrations on Aug 9 at The Promontory @ Marina Bay saw Singaporeans and permanent residents come together in song, cheer, and celebration.

People of all ages were enjoying the many activities offered, from the live performances to interactive booths.

Sitting relaxed on foldable camping chairs at the edge of the venue were a family of four – including Ms Audrey Ang, 40.

She was helping her five- and eight-year-old daughters put on temporary tattoos of national symbols as her husband prepared a stash of refreshments to survive the afternoon’s heat. 

The human resources practitioner said it was the first time her daughters had physically attended such celebrations, and her daughter Elsa Lim, five, said she was looking forward most to the fireworks, giving a thumbs up as she quipped: “I want louder fireworks (tonight)!” Ms Ang said the NDP was a “good occasion” for families like hers to come together to celebrate the nation’s birthday as “one Singapore”.

Ms Nurul Syafiqah, 25, and Mr Muhd Firdaus, 27, who are engaged, showed off their food stash of pizza and bubble tea as they basked in the atmosphere, which was “something different from celebrating at the Padang”, Mr Firdaus said.

Ms Syafiqah, an early childhood educator, said that it had been a few years since she went out on National Day. “I feel extra patriotic today, especially seeing all of us sitting here together celebrating as one,” she said.

Despite the downpour, Mrs Janice Lim, 55, decided to stay put with her husband and four daughters.

Describing the rain as “happiness rooted in pain” in Mandarin, the housewife said such rain showers on previous National Days stopped before the actual parade started.

The family decided to wait out the rain as they really wanted to watch the fireworks, just like most of the attendees who stayed put at the venue.