National Day 2020

NDP 2020: Through our lenses, through the years

From black-and-white to colour: On these and the next two pages, The Straits Times’ Photo Desk presents a collection of pictures of National Days past from the Singapore Press Holdings’ archives

Updated
Published
August 9, 2020 at 5:00 AM
Crowds gathering to watch the marching contingents at Singapore's first parade in 1966. PHOTO: NANYANG SIANG PAU
Above: Helicopters hovering above the National Stadium as the parade got under way in 1985. ST PHOTO: ARTHUR LEE CH
People queueing for parade tickets outside the National Stadium in 1986. Within 50 minutes of the tickets' release, all 8,000 set aside for spectators were snapped up. ST PHOTO: ARTHUR LEE CH
The 1968 parade was a sodden affair as an unexpected downpour turned the Padang into a muddy mess. But despite the rain, Singaporeans turned up in droves to watch the parade. ST FILE PHOTO
The splendour of Singapore's anniversary celebrations returned to the Padang after a three-year absence in a mammoth parade and display by 17,000 young men and women in 1978. ST PHOTO: TAN SUAN ANN
Rangoon Road Secondary School students performing the March Of The Tin Soldiers at Farrer Park, on National Day in 1975. The parade that year was decentralised and held at 13 selected centres islandwide. ST PHOTO: JERRY SEH
Founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew enjoying a snack while watching the 2001 parade from the VIP lounge at the National Stadium. ST PHOTO: GEORGE GASCON
Performers from the People's Association releasing helium-filled balloons in their item, We Are Singapore, during the full preview of the parade on July 18, 1992. ST PHOTO: LIM SENG TIONG
A perennial crowd favourite - commando parachutists descending to the strains of the theme song from the MissionImpossible movie during the 1996 parade. ST PHOTO: STEPHANIE YEOW
The spectators at the 2000 parade were treated to a dazzling sight of a fly-past in the formation of the stars and crescent of the national flag. ST PHOTO: MOHD ISHAK
Tight and perfect formations of soldiers standing ramrod-straight for a rifle salute during a rehearsal for the parade at the Padang on Aug 1, 1993. ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM
The mobile column dynamic display during a parade preview on July 27 last year offered a glimpse of the Singapore Armed Forces' raw power. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Three Apaches, accompanied by a Chinook, hoisting a 20m-by-30m Singapore flag as they flew past the Marina Sands Bay integrated resort in the 2009 parade. The resort was still being built then. ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
The Singapore Soka Association treating the audience at the 2012 parade to a thrilling performance of pyrotechnics. ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN
Then Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew (extreme left) and other ministers focusing their binoculars to catch a better glimpse of the action at the 1998 parade. ST PHOTO: JEROME MING
Spectators all togged out in red and white at the 2016 parade in the Singapore Sports Hub, basking in the sheltering comfort of a gigantic national flag. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
Among the many highlights of the 1999 parade was a stilt walker who enthralled the audience with a spellbinding fireworks display. ST PHOTO: GEORGE GASCON

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on August 09, 2020, with the headline NDP 2020: Through our lenses, through the years. Subscribe

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