NDP Celebrations @ The Float

Jointly organised by People’s Association (PA) and SAFRA, National Day Parade Celebrations At The Float will welcome 25,000 Singaporeans each night at the Marina Floating platform on Sat, 1 August and Sun, 9 August 2015.

I attended the NDP preview on 1st August, and got to witness firsthand the unsung heroes behind the planning and preparation of this event!

Spectators will be invited to sing and groove along to popular Singapore community songs such as ‘Singapore Town’, ‘Sing Singapore, Move on Singapore’ and ‘Stand Up for Singapore’.

I love this part of NDP because I love singing!! I'm amazed that I can still remember the lyrics of the Singapore songs from primary school! Also, 'Singapore Town' is the song Ken and I danced to as we put up a performance in our primary school, about 13 years ago HAHAHA.

This will be led by 700 community performers. The youngest performer is 7 year old Loo Hsin Yee and the oldest performer is 81 years old Tan Siew Kiat; both are from PAssionArts Community Singing Network.

Meet Devi d/o Sandanam, one of the song leaders from PAssionArts Community Singing Network. This is the first time that Devi has ever participated in a PA activity and it happened to be our nation’s 50th Golden Jubilee! Her colleague shared about her involvement in the PAssionArts Community Singing Network and invited her to be a part of the action. Encouraged by her colleague’s positive experience, she decided to give it a try. 

To her surprise, she enjoyed the singing, dancing and making new friends during the rehearsal. Her experience inspired her 51 year old sister and 22 year old niece to join in as well. She is proud to be a song leader to lead fellow Singaporeans to celebrate Singapore’s golden jubilee celebrations and will definitely sign up for future PA activities and events.

A special video capturing the collective hopes and aspirations of more than 500 Tanjong Pagar residents who are involved in a project called the ‘Dreams Singapore, Majulah SG100 Pinnacle Challenge’, will also be screened. 

The video will be accompanied by the song, ‘Thank You for Singapore’ which was first performed in 1991, at the National Tribute Dinner to honour our late Founding Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, after he stepped down as Prime Minister. The song will be sung by the East Coast Choir. The song pays tribute not only to the late Mr Lee but all founding fathers of Singapore, and to encourage Singaporeans to build on their legacies. 

Kelly Yiew Ping Hsien is one of the wonderful voices that make up East Coast Choir by Kampong Chai Chee. The East Coast Choir started with only 30 members at its first choral practice session in late May this year. Within a few months it has gather about 120 members, regardless of musical background.

Kelly, who is pursuing her ‘A’ levels this year, joined the group because she loves to sing. The many rehearsals took away significant study time for her milestone examination, but she feels it is all worth it as she is proud to perform for Singapore’s Golden Jubilee and excited to watch NDP ‘LIVE’ for the first time. 

She has also made many new friends in the choir and has even recruited her 46 year old mother to join the choir. They now have more opportunity to spend quality time together to bond over their shared passion.

Apart from the performance by PA Community Performers, the Float, also known as the Marina Bay Floating Platform, will offer unblocked views of some spectacular segments. This includes a special film and performance by the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s Black Knights; in honour of the late founding Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the Black Knights will do the “Five Stars” aerial flypast as a tribute. Meanwhile, this year’s fireworks display, another perennial airborne highlight of the parade, has been billed as the largest-ever such display for National Day.

Revellers may also watch the mobile column procession pass by, participate in pledge-taking with the marching contingent, and get into the groove with local artistes in a post-parade Celebration Concert only at the Float.

The 260 motivators will also heighten the celebrative mood by getting the spectators to do the ‘Singapore Wave’. They will also toss 10 red and 10 white balls to spectators during the PA Mass Display Segment of the ‘live’ telecast as part of audience engagement.

One of the motivators, Mohd Sahri Bin Sairi is a 15 years old student from Si Ling Secondary School and he is no stranger to PA’s event. He participated in Chingay Parade Singapore in 2014 and 2015 as he enjoyed meeting and getting to know new friends. When he and his friends knew about the role during their school camp, they volunteered immediately.

Despite his passion and enthusiasm, Sahri earnestly shared that becoming a motivator does have its sacrifices. Attending training workshops over weekends were particularly tough for him as he had to pass up some family bonding time which he deeply treasures. He appreciates his family members’ understanding during this period. With their support, he was able to persevere and do his part to make Celebrations At The Float a memorable experience for fellow Singaporeans.

Your happy faces and active participation will be his best reward this National Day!

The Float, having previously hosted audiences for several Bay area fireworks displays, is a prime viewing location for this and some exclusive segments, including a dedicated pre-parade segment.

Of course, we must not forget our unsung heroes working hard behind the scene to make sure that all Spectators receive medical attention real time should the need arise. 

Frederick Yeo Lye Hock, PBM, a First Aider from Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is trained in Standard First Aid (SFA), Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation & Automated External Defibrillator (CPR+AED). He has attended countless Emergency Preparedness (EP) trainings (eg. SFA & CPR+AED) organised by the PA in the Community Clubs and goes for advanced Basis Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) training on his own to enhance his life-saving skills. 

Although this is the fourth time that he will be participating in the NDP as a First Aider, he is very excited to be able to serve as one of the Sector ICs this year and oversee a team of 20 CERT volunteers for the medical deployment. He knows that their role is especially critical in mass events like the NDP, as they can immediately administer aid in the event of mishaps, and in more critical situations before medical help arrives.

From People's Association Instagram page: "Through the numerous weekends of rehearsals, our community performers built strong bonds with one another. It is particularly heart-warming to see residents of all age, race and religion coming together, interacting and helping one another before the big show."

The performers: thank you for sacrificing time to put up a marvelous show for us Singaporeans to enjoy!

A star-studded cast of show hosts and emcees including Irene Ang, Jerald Justin Koh (JK), Mike Darren Tan, Chua Leelian will engage and entertain spectators throughout the evening as we celebrate Singapore’s 50th birthday.

Reminds me of the time in February when I met her onboard the LST at SAF50 event at VivoCity! We got featured on her instagram hehehe.

Here's the overview of the NDP:

4.45 pm Pre-Parade Show 

• Celebrating the Extraordinary Games - A contingent of 400 Team Singapore athletes, officials and Team Nila volunteers will be recognised for their stellar performance at the 28th Southeast Asian Games. 

• Spectators will sing and groove along to the tune of popular National Day songs with more than 600 performers from various community groups 

5.40 pm The Parade 

• The celebrations at the Padang will be screened live on four LED screens (Size: 9.8-metres x 4.7-metres) 

• Spectators will be able to have one of the best views of the aerial display, 21 gun salute, fly-past of the Singapore flag and fireworks over the Bay 

• A segment of the mobile column, including 28 vehicles showcasing some of the best of Singapore’s defence capabilities, will drive past The Float 

• The parade contingent will march from the Padang to join the celebrations at The Float during the pledge moment 

• Spectators will join the rest of Singapore for the pledge moment and in singing the National Anthem 

8.30 pm Celebration Concert 

• Spectators will be treated to a variety of performances by local artistes 

9.15 pm End of Programme 

People’s Association Community Performers 

We appreciate all Community Performers for putting in their time and effort for Celebrations At The Float.

S/N	Performing Group	CCs & Organisations	Size
1	PAssionArts Community Singing Network	Bishan (23), Clementi (23), Jurong (37), Khatib (9), Pasir Ris Elias (33), Sengkang (5), Serangoon (5), Tampines (17), Yew Tee (33), Yio Chu Kang (118) & Wu Jia Ban (174), Youths (45)	540
2	PAssionArts Ukulele Network	Moulmein-Kallang	30
3	East Coast Choir by Kampong Chai Chee	Kampong Chai Chee & Vocal Associates	125
4	Motivators comprising  Working Adults and Students from JCs and IHILs	Positive Intention	260

Celebration Concert 

The celebration concert will feature a variety of local artists, ranging from local celebrities, home-grown legends and new sensations.

S/N	Artiste	Song
1	Tosh & Weiliang, Camokakis and all the Cast	Rasa Sayang
2	Sheikh Haikel	So Shiok
3	Vernon Cornelius	The Young Ones
4	Ling Kai	Stand by me
5	Camokakis	One United People
6	Matthew Tan	Singapore Cowboy
7	Jack Neo	"Laugh out" - SG
8	Jeremy Monteiro & Rani Singam	One People, One Nation,  One Singapore
9	Ferlyn Wong (Ferlyn G)	Price Tag
10	Mel & Joe Ferdinands	Let It Be Me
11	Sezairi Sezali	Broken
12	Shigga Shay	ShiGGa Morning
13	All the Cast	Celebration

Here's a reminder: if you haven't gotten your NDP tickets, create your avatar at Pixel PAdang! Also, check out the list of free and discounted activities you can do for Singapore's Jubilee Weekend coming up from 7th - 10th August! 

xoxo, kaitinghearts