National Day ceremonial parade at Marina Bay kicks off at 9am

SINGAPORE - A scaled-down ceremonial parade will be held at the Marina Bay floating platform on Monday (Aug 9) to mark Singapore's 56th year of independence, amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

About 600 participants from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and Home Team are expected on site, with another 200 people from youth uniformed groups and social and economic organisations expected to join virtually.

The parade is scheduled to start at 9am, and will last for about 45 minutes. It will be streamed live on the official NDPeeps' Facebook and YouTube pages, as well as on free-to-air TV channels.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTDUsHOJnxg[/embed]

Strict Covid-19 restrictions are expected as Singapore is still in phase two (heightened alert), although some loosening of measures is scheduled to happen on Tuesday, as the country hits a fully vaccinated rate of 70 per cent.

Areas around Marina Bay have been closed to the public from midnight on Monday until 2.30pm to discourage crowds.

Round-the-island state flag and fighter jet flypasts will return for the second National Day in a row to bring cheer to people at home. These will start from 9.50am, and last for about 30 to 45 minutes.

State flags will be carried by two Chinook helicopters, each escorted by two Apache helicopters, which will fly in two routes at the same time.

The western route covers West Coast, Jurong, Choa Chu Kang, Bukit Timah, and Bukit Panjang. The eastern route covers East Coast, Changi, Pasir Ris, Bedok, Punggol, and Khatib.

F-15SG fighter jets will fly in a delta formation in multiple loops across Singapore. Areas covered include Toa Payoh, Woodlands, Yishun, Clementi, Tiong Bahru, Tampines, Hougang and Geylang.

The fighter jets will start from the floating platform after the parade ends, and fly at more than 600kmh and at a height of 1,500 feet, before landing at Paya Lebar Air Base.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.