Tribute to site as it makes way for NS Square

The National Day Parade yesterday was the 10th held at the Marina Bay floating platform, and a tribute video marked the occasion.

Mr Teo Jing Siong, chairman of the organising committee of the first NDP to be held there, in 2007, spoke of having to convince naysayers that the platform was stable enough to hold the parade.

He said: "When we started... there were none like this (floating platform) in the world... A lot of people believed that it could not be done."

The former army chief engineer officer previously said several civil servants thought he had lost his mind when in 2004 he floated the dream of a parade over water as an interim site while the National Stadium was under construction.

But the plan took off. Together with urban planners and sports administrators, defence engineers and Sembcorp Marine's shipbuilders, the army designed and built the platform in two years.

Hailed as the world's largest floating platform when it opened, the structure is 120m long and 83m wide, and occupies an area slightly larger than a football field. It can hold up to 7,000 people, or 200 tonnes, and is able to accommodate the air, land and sea elements of NDPs.

The NDP was held there every year from 2007 to 2014, except for 2010, when it was held at the Padang.

The stage has become a familiar backdrop for spectators here, also hosting events such as concerts and countdown parties.

In 2017, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that the platform would be redeveloped and renamed NS Square.

Works are scheduled to start next March and be completed by end-2025. When ready, the space will seat 30,000 to 35,000 spectators, and be the central focus of the new downtown area.