Crowds arrive hours early for papal mass at National Stadium
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SINGAPORE – They came as early as 10am, hundreds of Catholic faithful streaming into Kallang.
Dressed in the yellow and white of the Vatican flag, their school uniforms – and bright pink ao dais, for 500 pilgrims from Vietnam – they waited patiently in line for the ticketed event, hoping to get a jump on the enhanced security screening to enter the National Stadium for Pope Francis’ mass.
Besides metal detectors and bag checks, the police had put in place other measures to tighten security ahead of the evening’s proceedings, which saw more than 50,000 people pack the stadium for Singapore’s first papal mass in almost 40 years.
The police K-9 unit patrolling the National Stadium area ahead of the papal mass on Sept 12.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
Those who came via the Circle Line were greeted at Stadium MRT station by Public Transport Security Command (TransCom) and police K-9 unit officers who were on patrols. Hundreds of other security personnel and volunteers were deployed at checkpoints around the stadium.
Attendees started to be let in at about 12.45pm for the mass, which would start at 5.30pm. Queues peaked at around 2pm, when it snaked from Stadium MRT to Stadium Roar, the arena’s entrance, and many broke out their brollies to beat the mid-day blaze.
Catholics who spoke to The Straits Times said they spent between 10 minutes and an hour to clear security.
Ms Claire Ong, a 56-year-old tutor, said she queued about 30 minutes to enter the stadium, and the process was smooth.
She added: “As a Catholic, you don’t get to see the Pope every day. And in his old age, he still came all the way here to see us.”
Police said security was tightened for the mass, which saw some road lanes closed and patrols stepped up in the vicinity of the stadium.
The authorities had also advised attendees to carry minimal personal belongings and to arrive early to allow time for security checks.
Superintendent Clarinda Wong, head of operations at Bedok Police Division, said the police had been working closely with the key stakeholders such as the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Singapore on venue security for the mass.
Security agencies here had worked round the clock in recent days to secure the stadium,
Vehicles getting checked as part of the security screening at the National Stadium ahead of the papal mass on Sept 12.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
On Sept 11, members of the media were invited to observe a multi-level security operation that stretched from the evening into early dawn.
Officers from various units of the Singapore Police Force and the Ministry of Defence could be seen performing detailed venue sweeps at around midnight.
The operation involved a range of checks by at least 90 personnel from the Police Security Command and the Singapore Armed Forces’ Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosive Defence Group (CBRE).
Officers from the CBRE conducting bomb sweeps and checks along a corridor at the National Stadium on Sept 12.
ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
Teams of officers were observed climbing and clearing the access walkways in the stadium’s dome. Hoisted 70m above the ground, they ensured that no suspicious or foreign objects were hidden above the stands.
Meanwhile, bomb-sniffing dogs from the CBRE were spotted moving around the stadium with their handlers, and multiple teams scanned every inch of the stage and ground-level seats to fully secure Singapore’s largest concert venue, which can sit up to 55,000 people.
Reporters were ushered off the stadium grounds at 2am – some three hours after the operation began on Sept 11 – but officers remained to continue the clearance operation.
ST understands that initial security sweeps and checks in the stadium’s vicinity had began on Sept 6.
Singapore is the final stop of the Pope’s four-nation Asia tour, which started on Sept 2.
Additional reporting by Theresa Tan and Carmen Sin
