The show soon began with students from Bedok View Secondary School, Deyi Secondary School, East Spring Secondary School and Victoria Junior College in vibrant costumes dancing to this year’s theme song, Shine Your Light, and easing the crowd into the programme.
This year, a total of 2,400 performers and 43 artistes were involved, with students and community groups converging from various schools, ministries and organisations to make NDP happen.
Another 400 students from tertiary institutions contributed as audience motivators, make-up artists and content creators, and they could be seen dotted throughout the stands, dancing to songs tirelessly throughout.
Speaker of Parliament Seah Kian Peng and Members of Parliament were welcomed to the NDP and made their way onto the stands from the National Gallery.
Shortly after 6pm, a crowd favourite, the military free fall segment was conducted by the Red Lions, with eight descending from a transport aircraft in aerial formation and taking minutes to reach the ground. The crowd waited with bated breath, last year’s mishap involving a Red Lion in an awry landing on everyone’s minds.
Each Red Lion landed, within seconds of the other, smoothly and to ecstatic cheers and applause from the crowd.