July 19, 2020, 05:28 PM
In view of Covid-19, some elements of this year's National Day Parade's (NDP) will be brought to the heartlands as large groups of Singaporeans cannot gather at a venue.
Some Singaporeans may have noticed fighter jets and the state-flag fly-past in recent weeks as NDP rehearsals have begun.
Red Lions landing in the heartlands for the first time
This year, an all-time favourite segment — involving the Red Lions — will also be moving into selected heartlands.
This is the first time that the Red Lion parachutists will be landing in residential estates.
With many high rise buildings in Singapore, finding a suitable spot to pull off this feat will not be easy.
While the actual locations have not been revealed, some lucky residents in Sengkang have managed to catch them rehearsing in the hood.
Red Lions rehearsing in Sengkang
One Sengkang resident, Tris Danker, who lives just next to the grass patch, told Mothership that the Red Lions have been spotted rehearsing in her neighbourhood.
Danker said that he saw the Red Lions practising in the Compassvale Cresent area twice, first being on July 11 and the second time on July 18.
There are a total of six parachutists, comprising five men and one woman.
Photo courtesy of Tris Danker.
Photo courtesy of Tris Danker.
Danker said that there were what appeared to be NDP personnel who arrived at the grass patch to cordon off the area at around 7 or 8am.
The parachutists started arriving one after another at around 9am. It took about 10-15 minutes for all six of them to complete their landings.
Video courtesy of Tris Danker.
Video courtesy of Tris Danker.
Video courtesy of Tris Danker.
After the parachutists landed on the grass patch, they packed their parachutes and did a salute.
Video courtesy of Tris Danker.
Some NDP personnel on the ground also took photos of the parachutists. It also appeared that some family members of the parachutists were present at the rehearsal on July 18, Danker told Mothership.
Some residents living in the vicinity also went down to watch by the roadside.
Danker found this experience one-of-a-kind, as he did not expect to see the Red Lions just "at his own backyard".
He said:
"Seeing the red lions up close is a completely different experience as compared to seeing them on TV or at NDP...It gives me a very patriotic feeling. The fact that it is kinda impromptu makes it even more special as you feel kinda lucky to witness the display."
Here you can hear the claps and exclamations of excited bystanders catching a glimpse of the landing from the overhead bridge:
The other location where the Red Lions have been spotted is at Jurong East:
It's unclear which other estates the Red Lions will be appearing at during NDP, but this is something definitely worth looking forward to.Top photos courtesy of Tris Danker
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