4-minute NDP fireworks for Bishan, Geylang Serai, Jurong East, Punggol & Woodlands heartland estates

Let the fireworks come to you.

Belmont Lay | July 26, 2019, 11:27 AM

Heartland residents in Bishan, Geylang Serai, Jurong East, Punggol and Woodlands, take heart.

These estates would each have their own four-minute display of National Day fireworks -- but on Aug. 10, 2019 instead.

This year's heartland fireworks is meant to reach out to more Singaporeans by bringing the National Day Parade celebrations to the suburbs.

The last time NDP-related fireworks were set off in estates was back in 2005, according to the NDP Committee.

Military Expert (ME) 6 Johnson Ling, chairman of this year’s fireworks committee, said: “It has been more than a decade since the NDP committee last brought the fireworks display to the heartlands. And we hope that Singaporeans will like what we have prepared for them.”

Fireworks over Singapore River

To ensure a wider audience, fireworks will be set off at the Singapore River for the first time in Singapore's National Day Parade history this August 2019.

The display will be to celebrate the river's significance in Singapore's bicentennial year.

The 3.2km-long waterway is where many of Singapore's early immigrants arrived at to begin their new lives and was the centre of economic activity.

The fireworks display is expected to begin at about 8pm.

It will last for five minutes.

This year’s NDP fireworks display will also involve the deployment of the longest barge in NDP history.

This is to address the shortcomings of having fireworks overhead the Padang.

A 450m-long barge allows for a wider fireworks display over the bay area and can be seen by people in the Padang and Marina Bay area.

Mobile column

In addition to the fireworks in the heartlands, a mobile column will depart the F1 pit at 2.30pm that day and make its way to the five estates.

2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the mobile column’s first journey down the Padang.

The five sections of the mobile column are estimated to reach their destinations at about 6.45pm.

The location of the mobile column can tracked on the official NDP website.

There will also be a livestream of the mobile column on the website.