NDP 2024: Red Lions wow S'poreans with smooth landing at Padang

The National Day Parade (NDP) 2024 kicked off at around 5:30pm on Aug. 9 at the Padang as Singapore celebrates its 59th birthday.

During the pre-parade segment, audiences were already amazed by the smooth landing performed by the Red Lions despite unfavourable weather conditions.

This year's Red Lions parachutists consist of six men and two women: LTC Neo Choon Chea, MWO Chong Boon Heng, MWO Chew Eng Seng, 1WO Poh Jin Song, 1WO Galvin Chan, 1WO Eugene Cho, 2WO Shirley Ng, and 2WO Sandy Wong.

Off to a good start

The parachutists were first seen hovering in the sky before the first parachutist began to descend.

On their way to the ground, they passed by numerous landmarks, such as Swissôtel The Stamford.

As they gradually approached the Padang, the audience could be heard cheering "Ooooooh".

The crowd cried out "Yay!" and clapped enthusiastically when the parachutists made smooth landings, even though the ground was wet and slippery.

After all eight parachutists made their landings at Padang, they saluted towards the stage and waved at the audience while holding their parachutes.

Rain poured right before the start of NDP

The sudden late afternoon rain did not deter crowds from gathering near the Padang.

@mothershipsg NDP 2024 is scheduled to kick off as planned #singapore #tiktoksg #sgnews ♬ original sound - Mothership

At around 5:20pm, NDPeeps confirmed on social media that the parade would start "right on time" as clear skies are expected by 5:30pm.

NDP crew members were also spotted clearing puddles off the stage in preparation for the parade.

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Top images via MediaCorp