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Singapore celebrates 58th National Day with full-scale physical parade at Padang

09 Aug 2023 09:29pm
A full-scale physical parade was held at the Padang on Wednesday to mark the 58th National Day of Singapore. - Facebook
A full-scale physical parade was held at the Padang on Wednesday to mark the 58th National Day of Singapore. - Facebook
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SINGAPORE - A full-scale physical parade was held at the Padang on Wednesday to mark the 58th National Day of Singapore.

Themed "Onward As One", the National Day Parade (NDP) 2023 was attended by Singapore President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

It was tremendously jubilant this time after a ‘large-scale ceremonial parade’ last year, combining both physical and virtual marching contingents with the Padang filled by about 27, 000-solid crowd.

As part of the ceremony Halimah inspected the five guard of honour contingents as she presided over her final NDP as the republic's head of state.

Four 25-pounder howitzer guns fired a 21-gun salute to honour the president.

Her six-year term will end next month.

The celebrations commenced at 6pm with the first segment titled "Defending Our Nation as One" which showcased 34 physical marching contingents, symbolising the six pillars of Total Defence.

The segment involved more than 1,700 participants, encompassing the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Colours Party, five guard of honour contingents, five contingents from the SAF, Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF).

It was then followed by the second segment titled "Building Our Shared Future As One”, which celebrated the diversity that forms the basis and fabric of Singaporean identity.

This segment comprised four live Acts featuring 43 artistes and 2,400 performers, interwoven with three short films.

The films featured 19 Singaporeans and their stories related to their dreams, passions, aspirations and giving back to society.

Meanwhile, in commemoration of the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s (RSAF) 55th anniversary, the RSAF conducted an enhanced Aerial Display at this year’s NDP.

At the pre-parade segment, the RSAF’s C-130 transport aircraft flew the Red Lions over the Padang to conduct the Military Free Fall segment.

The iconic favourites - the "State Flag Flypast” and an enhanced "Salute-To-The-Nation” segment - took the stage showcasing pride and patriotism for Singapore nation.

The RSAF also put up the RSAF55 Enhanced Aerial Display with four profiles showcasing some of its newest assets during the fighter aerial display.

The parade was streamed live on the official NDPeeps' Facebook and YouTube pages, as well as the national TV channels. - BERNAMA

National Day
Singapore
parade
2023
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