Strong Seniors group to anchor tribute to pioneer generation at NDP 2024

SINGAPORE – At just 14, Mr Michael Stafford Hogan performed with his secondary school military band in Singapore’s second National Day Parade (NDP) in 1967.

“In (the second NDP), nothing was here. Everything you see behind me was not here. The tallest building was Victoria Memorial Hall. In the far distance was the Fullerton building. Nothing else,” he recalled, standing at the 2024 NDP stage at the Padang. 

Back then, participants had to march past City Hall on a 10km route in the scorching midday heat, and the parade ended at around noon, with the participants “somewhere 10km away”, said Mr Hogan.

“Now, everything begins at sunset... All the stands you see today, the buildings you see around us, have come up since then.”

Mr Hogan went on to participate in five more parades – three with his school military band, once as a contingent commander when he was in polytechnic, and then marching with the Safra contingent during his reservist days. 

After undergoing 21 sessions of radiation therapy to overcome prostate cancer, the 71-year-old is back at the Padang for his seventh NDP – joining the parade as a Strong Senior.

The Strong Seniors, a group of fit senior men performing as coolies, will pull out a large 20m-long ship from the belly of the stage in a grand entrance for Chapter Three of this year’s show segment.

The galvanised metal ship opens up to reveal labourers, construction workers and samsui women in traditional costumes, representing Singapore’s immigrant story.

Themed “Together, We Achieve”, the chapter is a tribute to the enduring strength of the pioneer generation. 

Unlike in previous years, which followed the typical past-present-future narrative structure, scriptwriter Kaylene Tan has tried this year to make the “past” segment grander, celebrating the different types of migrants who arrived in waves over the years – coolies, farmers, labourers and fishermen, as well as merchants, teachers, hawkers and artists.

Ms Tan said: “We focus on manual labour: the work of the hands, the work of the heart... but also the work of the mind and the head. So what does it take to make a nation? It’s not just bricks and mortar, but it’s also about... people having dreams, building a family and staying on and making this their home.”   

Setting the stage for this is set designer and architect Randy Chan, who is returning to the NDP for the fifth time. With a reimagination of the performance space, 2024’s parade aims to create a more intimate experience through the circular stage, dubbed the “embracing set”, which helps to bring the show’s energy to the centre. 

On top of the three main LED screens, an additional 12 LED banners and four mobile LED cubes will provide spectators with an immersive 360-degree experience of colourful multimedia visuals and effects. The parade will also feature more theatrical elements, such as the metal ship.

“We have made the Padang feel closer, more cosy,” said Mr Chan, reiterating that the NDP is “not just for the VIPs... it is about the audience”.

To create a more unobstructed view, the team also removed two of the Padang’s six large sound towers for smaller, cylindrical speakers. This involved a recalibration of the venue’s sound system to ensure that sound quality is not sacrificed.

The music for NDP 2024 explores the intimate bonds that Singaporeans have forged with the nation, the cultures and the way of life, and with one another.

Taking inspiration from Singapore’s national flower, Chapter Three opens with Anggerik Singapura, which translates to The Orchids Of Singapore, a less well-known song by Mr Zubir Said, the late composer of Singapore’s National Anthem. 

NDP 2024 music director Bang Wenfu said: “There’s this idea of hybridity, because the orchid is a hybrid flower and Singapore is very much a hybrid nation.”

He added that hybridity is a running concept within the parade’s music, as evident in his integration of modern pop rock, Asian instruments and even alternative techno. 

Referring to the theme “Our People”, Mr Bang likened the process of nation-building to Western orchestral music. 

Noting how an orchestra features up to 20 types of instruments and up to a hundred players with different backgrounds to perform a complex piece of music, he said: “I think nation-building is just like that – people just come together and build up Singapore.” 

The show also features an original NDP song, Hold Up The Sky, with music by Mr Bang and lyrics by Ms Tan.

It was based on one of Mr Zubir’s inspirations for the National Anthem – a Malay proverb that translates to “You should hold up the sky of the land where you live” in English. 

Creative producer Noorlinah Mohamed said: “It’s a tribute to our pioneers, and with Zubir, we’re getting to pay tribute to our musical pioneer.”