The tiny island nation of Singapore celebrated her 58th birthday at the Padang on Aug. 9, 2023, with some 27,000 spectators decked out in red and white colours in attendance.
As anticipated, the 34°C sweltering tropical heat was unable to keep them away, having secured the coveted National Day Parade (NDP) tickets for the parade — with hundreds of thousands of others out and about the Marina Bay area to soak in the festivities.
Padang. In the sun we feel as one. By Tan Guan Zhen
via Singapore Police Force
In the stands at Padang via Mothership reader
In the stands at Padang via Mothership reader
Props to performers
The four hosts, Eswari Gunasagar, Fauzie Laily, Hazelle Teo and Joakim Gomez, fronted the show, which started at around 5:30pm.
A total of 2,400 performers and 43 artistes were involved in this year's NDP.
As the parade proper was the culmination of months of preparation and rehearsals, performers were seen giving their all on the actual day — so, credit where credit is due:
@izked Dance like the world is your stage! 🎉 Someone give him an award please! #NDP2023 #SG58 #singapore #fyp ♬ original sound - Iskandar Sa'ad
Students from Bedok View Secondary School, Deyi Secondary School, East Spring Secondary School and Victoria Junior College were put in the limelight as performers.
Some 400 students from tertiary institutions served as audience motivators, make-up artists and content creators.
They made their presence felt in the stands with the audience.
Marina Bay closed off as capacity reached
By 7pm, as the National Day Parade was in full swing, the police closed off access to the Marina Bay area due to the large crowds.
The areas that were closed off were reopened to the public again at about 9:30pm.
Last NDP for President Halimah Yacob
This NDP was the last for President Halimah Yacob, who is Singapore’s eighth president.
She inspected the parade and received the presidential gun salute for the final time as the head-of-state.
Her term ends on Sep. 13, 2023.
She gamely joined for a group selfie at the end.
@mothershipsg This will be her last NDP as President of Singapore. #tiktoksg #sgnews #ndp2023 ♬ original sound - Mothership
Flag-waving antics
Flag-waving was also the order of the day.
@sharrreyyy 😮💨#NDP2023 ♬ You Belong With Me (Taylor’s Version) - Taylor Swift
Parade elements
The ceremonial part of the parade featured the military free-fall parachutists, the Red Lions, while the marching contingents saw 1,700 participants from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Home Team, uniformed groups and social and economic contingents form 34 marching groups.
The aerial state flag flypast by the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) made use of the CH-47SD Chinook helicopter, and escorted by two AH-64D Apache attack helicopters.
Five F-16D+ jets pulled-off a bomb-burst, while three F-15SGs carried out a fly-through as a salute.
Two F-16D+ jets performing a cross-turn, before a F-15SG ascended in a vertical climb — to the audible gasps of spectators who could only imagine the G-force exerted.
The parade’s show segment, with the theme, "Onward as One", was the brainchild of local filmmaker Royston Tan, who served as 2023's NDP creative director.
The crowd were visibly excited for Munnaeru Vaalibaa, a fast-paced Tamil song.
Fireworks display
The crowds all over Marina Bay were undoubtedly waiting for the fireworks segment that closed off the three-hour parade:
@berox_13 Yg gk bs nonton silahkan nonton disni 😍🎇🇸🇬 #singaporendp2023 ♬ Jedag Jedug Full Bass - Donny Fernanda
The fireworks lasted for more than 4 minutes:
@mothershipsg help the bro out thanks #NDP2023 #sgnews #tiktoksg ♬ Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen