SINGAPORE: Two familiar National Day Parade (NDP) songs will form the basis of this year’s theme song as the parade commemorates 200 years since the founding of modern Singapore.
The theme song, titled Our Singapore, will draw on the lyrics of the NDP 2002 theme song We Will Get There and the 2015 edition of Our Singapore.
Speaking at the launch event for this year’s NDP at the Asian Civilisations Museum on Wednesday (May 22), music director Sydney Tan said the song represents a way of expressing gratitude for those who have gone before.
“It is a piece … recognising and to give honour and homage to the older generation, those that walked before us – it’s not just another song,” said Dr Tan. “When we say thank you to someone, we are building somebody up. That’s how you build a nation.”
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This year’s theme song comprises verses sung by 27 artistes representing different generations.
They include veterans such as Rahimah Rahim and Jacintha Abisheganaden, contemporaries such as Stefanie Sun and JJ Lin, local icons including Dick Lee and Kit Chan, as well as various local rappers.
THEME AND LOGO
On the theme Our Singapore, chairman of the NDP 2019 executive committee Brigadier-General Yew Chee Leung said it emphasises the “collective ownership” of the nation.
“It’s a theme that is simple to understand and a theme that can connect with Singaporeans,” he said.
“It is a theme that also complements the bicentennial. It allows us to tell our Singapore story from past to present and also allows us to look to the future together.
“We are living the dreams of our pioneers and it’s now up to our generation to continue to build Singapore for the future. We are now our pioneers for our future.”
The logo for NDP 2019.
This year’s logo will feature the lion – symbolic of the name Singapura, or Lion City – as well as the crescent moon and five stars from the Singapore flag.
This year also marks the 60th anniversary since the first unveiling of the national flag on the City Hall steps at the Padang in 1959.
NDP will be staged as one integrated show, comprising a total of six acts that relate to the theme.
Highlights of the parade will include the inaugural participation of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and Home Team Volunteer contingent in the parade and ceremony segment.
The Republic of Singapore Air Force’s Multi-Role Tanker Transport will also participate in the aerial display for the first time.
This year’s parade, which celebrates Singapore’s 54 years of independence, will be held at the Padang. The parade was last held at the Padang in 2015, when Singapore celebrated 50 years of independence.
As part of efforts to bring the parade to the masses, a convoy of vehicles from the SAF and Home Team will travel to Bishan, Geylang Serai, Jurong East, Punggol and Woodlands a day after the parade.
Carnivals will be organised by the People’s Association at those heartland sites and the one-day celebrations will end with fireworks displays there.
Organised by HQ Armour, together with private and public sector agencies, this year’s edition of the parade will involve about 15,000 participants, volunteers and personnel behind the scenes as well as on stage.
