NDP 2025: Crowds gather at Marina Bay as celebrations extend beyond Padang for the first time

Even as people were taking their seats in Padang, the Marina Bay area was with buzzing with various local acts performing at the Waterfront Promenade entertaining the crowd with a mix of pop tracks and National Day Parade theme songs.

More than 200,000 are expected to be in the area to be part of Singapore's 60th birthday bash.

Among the crowd was a Singapore couple, who arrived as early at 2.30pm to secure good spots to watch the festivities and even set up a tripod to capture photos.

Soaking in the National Day Parade atmosphere for the first time were 20-year-olds Ashraff and Haini, who are especially looking forward to the fireworks — particularly the special SG60 finale feature at the end.

Ashraff also surprised Haini with her favourite perfume, given in celebration of her birthday three days earlier, as they enjoyed a picnic with a spread of food.

Another Singaporean who was in the thick of action with her immediate and extended family was 30-year-old Jean Toh.

Toh's family, who usually gather at their parents' house to watch the celebrations on TV, arrived around 2pm to reserve good spots for the event.

She also said that her 8-year-old son was especially excited to see the fly-past.

'Take Singapore as an inspiration'

Ato Wright, who arrived from Ghana, West Africa, on Aug 6, said he was very impressed by Singapore's success.

Speaking to AsiaOne, the YouTuber, also known as Red Ringo, credited former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and Singapore's leadership as key reasons for his interest in the country.

"A country like Ghana has so many resources, but we suffer because of poor leadership and corruption. I hope we can learn from Singapore, and I will keep telling people back home about Singapore," said Wright, adding that he sees Singapore as an inspiration for education, leadership, and technology.

"I always take Singapore as an inspiration for developing countries."

Wright, who will be in Singapore for a week, said that during his visit, he managed to explore religious sites and cultural areas.

He also shared his love for Maxwell Food Centre and tried different types of food, including Indian, Chinese, Malay, and Vietnamese cuisines during his stay.

To commemorate the SG60 milestone, the scale of NDP 2025 is different from previous parades with the national day live show extended from Padang to Marina Bay for the first time. 

As the parade began, cheering echoed across the Marina Bay area as naval divers parachuted down for the first-ever "Jump of Unity."

This is the first time the Red Lions and Naval Divers landed at two iconic locations: the Padang and Marina Bay.

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xingying.koh@asiaone.com