CELEBRATING "OUR PEOPLE, OUR HOME" AT NDP 2014
PHOTO // Chua Soon Lye
This year's National Day Parade (NDP) will be all about celebrating the can-do attitude and caring spirit which holds Singaporeans together.
The theme, Our People, Our Home, was revealed on 14 May, at the Marina Bay Floating Platform.
"It celebrates our people who have built a good home for ourselves in Singapore where we truly belong, and (it is) important for us to continue the boldness and fortitude that our nation is founded on," explained Colonel (COL) Wong Yu Han, Chairman of the NDP 2014 Executive Committee (EXCO).
Also unveiled was this year's colourful and vibrant NDP logo, which comprises the Singapore flag outlined in the shape of a firework-like speech bubble. This represents the voices of a nation in celebration, while the rays, hearts and stars in red and blue symbolise Singaporeans' hearts, aspirations and hope for the future.
To make the parade even more engaging for all Singaporeans and to inspire future generations, there will be a series of activities in the lead-up to NDP that Singaporeans can take part in.
In the first-ever Junior Red Lions initiative, 18 lucky Primary 4 and 5 students would be selected to train with the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Red Lions parachuting team for a day at iFly Singapore. Come 9 Aug, these children will join the Red Lions on stage in a salute to the nation.
To recognise the caring spirit of Singaporeans, this year's parade will also feature moments called "Heartbeats", in which citizens appreciate people, both past and present, who have contributed towards the building of the nation. Putting a face to these people's sacrifices and stories will be an inspiration and encouragement to other Singaporeans.
This year, however, there will not be an NDP theme song. Instead, organisers will be launching an album filled with classic NDP tunes featured through the years.
"What we want to do is to bring people back to those familiar songs that we've grown up with and learnt to sing together. That is why our focus this year is on familiar Singaporean songs like Stand up for Singapore, Count on Me and Home," said COL Wong.
"Those songs (have meant) a lot to us and we want to bring them back this year and tie it together with our theme - Our People, Our Home."
