National Day Parade, 2008.html



National Day Parade 2008
Organiser	HQ GUARDS Chairperson: Tung Yui Fai
Venue	Marina Bay
Theme	Celebrating the Singapore Spirit
Event Chronology
NE Show 1	5 July 2008
NE Show 2	12 July 2008
NE Show 3	19 July 2008
Preview	2 August 2008
Actual	9 August 2008
Parade
Parade Commander	LTC Mark Teo
Music
Theme song	Shine for Singapore (Hady Mirza, Joi Chua)

The National Day Parade 2008 (NDP 2008) was a national ceremony held on 9 August 2008 at the Marina Bay Floating Stadium to commemorate Singapore's 43rd year of independence. For the second time, the event was held in the Marina Bay area.

Theme

The theme for NDP 2008 was "Celebrating the Singapore Spirit".¹ The theme was inspired by the previous years Prime Minister's National Day Rally speeches. Five domain of the Singapore Spirit emphasied and portrayed during the parade were: Unity, Determination, Confidence, Dynamism, and Compassion.

Logo

The NDP 2008 logo captures Singaporean's celebration of the Singapore Spirit. The children are reaching for the stars, striving for excellence, determined to succeed and confident of a brighter future ahead. They are dancing in step with one another as a show of unity and graciousness. The logo radiates vibrancy and dynamism; inspiring all Singaporeans to shine for Singapore.²

Parade & Ceremony

National Day Parade 2008, the second one to be held at the Marina Bay Floating Platform

• Parade Commander:

Lieutenant-Colonel Mark Teo Cheng Han

• Reserve Parade Commander:

Lieutenant-Colonel Leong Chi Beng

• Parade Sergeant Major:

Master Warrant Officer Shamsuddin Bin Isnin

• Reserve Parade Sergeant Major:

Master Warrant Officer

• Colours Sergeant Major:

Master Warrant Officer P. Jegathesan

• Reserve Colours Sergeant Major:

Second Warrant Officer Roger Koh

• Guard-of-Honour Contingents:

Army (1st Commando Battalion), RSN (Naval Diving Unit), RSAF (Air Defence Operations Command & Air Power Generation Command), Singapore Police Force (Combined Police Units)

• Band-in-Attendance:

Singapore Armed Forces Central Band

• Black Knights Commentator:

Second Warrant Officer Brian Lee

Tickets & Funpacks

Tickets

As in previous years, Singaporeans had to e-ballot to obtain tickets for the preview and parade. Applications for e-balloting were made through SMS, telephone, the Internet, and self-service automated payment machines such as "AXS" or Self-service Automated Machines ("SAM").

Funpacks

The National Day Parade 2008 Funpacks were made from Tetra Paks, first time in parade history. The bags are waterproof and can withstand loads of at least 3kg.

The cover of the bags were designed by young artists with disabilities from Very Special Arts Singapore and other artists from School of the Arts.

A total of 135,000 bags were given away to spectators during the three NDP previews, full dressed rehearsal and on August 9. Some of the highlight items in the bag include a giant inflatable glove with six light-emitting diodes which will blink for six seconds every time the glove is shaken or hit and a 90-page discount coupons booklet.

Highlights

The RSAF Black Knights performing at the National Day Parade, 2008

As with the previous NDP during 2000, the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) was scheduled the RSAF Black Knights for Aerobatic display in NDP'08.

The pre-parade segment at this year's National Day Parade was expected to be a multi-sensory experience, with performances on land, sea and air.³

Some of the parade's highlights include:

• Sparkles of Singapore: A group of wheelchair-bound performers
  
• A Pyrotechnics Symphonyand a four-minute Bay Show with jet skis, stunt kites and powerboats
  
• The SAF Red Lions will also return with a military freefall display
  
• Act 1: Search! Pioneers of a New Age
  
• Act 2: Sense! Artists of a New Landscape
  
• Act 3: Spring! Creators of a New World
  
• Grand finale: Shine! Singapore Spirit

Singapore Cheer

A Singapore Cheer was introduced in this year's parade for the purpose of cheering on athletes and Singaporeans at sporting and other competitions.⁴

Songs

Theme songs

The official theme song of the National Day Parade, entitled Shine for Singapore, was sung by the winner of both Singapore and Asian Idol Hady Mirza. The music and lyrics were done by local composer Benny Wong. The Chinese version of the theme song, entitled 晴空万里, was sung by Mandarin pop singer Joi Chua.⁵

Featured songs

Other than the theme songs, NDP 2008 featured 4 more songs, each in one of the four main languages of our country.

• Home was played in Tamil
• My Island Home in Chinese accompanied by an operatic poem
• There’s No Place I’d Rather Be in Malay complemented by a Malay poem

Additionally, We Are Singapore was also featured in an a capella rendition of the popular tune. Chinese, Malay, Tamil and English – the four songs encapsulate the Singapore Spirit of racial tolerance and friendship.⁶

Flags

The national flag displayed underneath a window

During the celebration period (1 July to 30 September), residents are encouraged to hang the national flag outside their homes. The national flag are also allowed to be flown outside government buildings and private properties.

However, hanging flags on vehicles was prohibited at all times. In recent years, the Singapore Government allowed mini flags to be flown on commercial and private vehicles. In 2006, 10,000 taxis and 2,500 buses from ComfortDelGro (Citycab, Comfort Taxi and SBS Transit) were selected to fly a mini version of the nation's flag on it.⁷ Private vehicles are also allowed to fly mini flags or put stickers featuring the nation's flag on their vehicles.

In 2008, the rules for displaying the flag are further relaxed. The national flag now may be displayed on clothes and costumes during the period of National Day celebrations. Decals, stickers, posters or other visual images of the flag may also be displayed freely. The only requirement is the flag must be treated with respect at all times.⁸

Broadcast

TV channels

As a national event, the parade was broadcasted 'live' from 5.45pm to 8.15pm (SST) across MediaCorp TV channels which included Channel 5, Channel 8, Channel U, Suria, Vasantham Central, TVMobile and for the first time, on Channel NewsAsia International.⁹ The commentary on Channel 5, Channel NewsAsia and TV Mobile were in English, Channels 8 and U in Mandarin, Suria in Malay and Vasantham Central in Tamil.

Radio

MediaCorp Radio stations covered the parade 'live' over 938LIVE, Capital 95.8FM, Warna 94.2FM and Oli 96.8FM in English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil respectively.

Online

'Live' webcast was also available on the official NDP website, MediaCorp NDP webpage and Channel NewsAsia Live.

Others

At the Padang, three large screens telecasted NDP 2008 'live' as part of Young NTUC's Flag@Padang Celebrations. A large LCD Screen at Merlion Park broadcasted NDP 2008 live as the public was expected along Esplanade Walk and Merlion Park to view the NDP Flypast, RSAF Black Knights Aerial Display as well as soak-in the spectacular NDP fireworks.

Security

In the event of a chemical or bomb attack, the Singapore Civil Defence Force and Singapore Police Force had prepared stations outside the stadium as a precaution. Evacuation routes were planned and if such an attack is to happen, spectators were able to evacuate in an orderly manner. Sharp items such as knives and scissors were not allowed into the stadium and were confiscated. For security reasons, X-ray scanners and metal detectors were put in place at the stadium.

Since the parade was held by the bay, waterways in the bay were out of bounds to the usual sea craft and bumboats ferrying tourists along Singapore River.

See also

• National Day Parade
• National Day Rally
• National Day Parade, 2005
• National Day Parade, 2006
• National Day Parade, 2007
• National Day Parade, 2009
• Singapore Fireworks Celebrations

References

External links

• NDP 2008 Official Website