| |
| |
![]() |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
SINGAPORE: Besides the 30,000 spectators, some 7,000 participants took part in this year's National Day Parade at Marina Bay on Thursday.
Far from having any pre-parade jitters, all the performers were excited at being the first to perform on the floating platform.
The oldest participant this year is 71 years old and the youngest is just 9, but all were united in their quest to make their show a huge success.
Tara Takahashi, a Primary 3 student from Clementi Primary School, said: "This is my first time at the National Day Parade and I'm really looking forward to it. At first, when people jumped on the platform, I felt like I was going to drop into a hole. I was really scared, but I've since overcome (my fear)."
As it was the first time that the national parade was held at Marina Bay, a number of water-themed performances were lined up for the huge show.
Ijaz Ahmed, a parade participant of the 'Source of Life' segment, said: "We are doing Source of Life dance because water is a source of life and it would fit in perfectly. We are sea creatures."
With a new location and so many new elements this year, even the parade veterans found it hard to keep their excitement down.
Abdul Rahman Samsudin, a parade veteran from SembCorp Marine, said: "I have participated in the National Day Parade for a total of ten times. Three times were at the Padang and seven times at the National Stadium. But this year is very special to me because I get to participate at Marina Bay which has the world's largest floating platform, built by my company SembCorp Marine."
The show, dubbed 'PossibiCity' to showcase Singapore as 'A City of Possibilities', kicked off to rousing cheers and the participants were buoyed by a sense of mission to put up their best performances.
- CNA/so
|
