National Day Rally 2019 commentary: Identity and an island nation's vulnerability

The Bicentennial Experience at Fort Canning takes the visitor through 700 years of Singapore's history in an hour, and tells the story of how this island flourished and languished over the centuries.

The exhibition, along with a host of activities by community, grassroots and other organisations this year, showcases how disparate groups of immigrants and sojourners settled here, made fortunes, raised families, gave back to society, worked together and helped shape a sense of common identity that, largely, still holds today.