The Parade
(Previous) Finally, Gurmit Singh and his fellow comperes stepped onto the stage. The NDP had begun this year. They entertained us with plenty of pre-show activities, including the “Singapore Wave” and cracked lots of witty jokes.
And I thought that the NDP itself was actually quite interesting too. As a whole, I would say that it is different to some of the previous ones I have seen.
Local Icons
This year, the Parade felt more people oriented and the use of local icons connected with the audience. For example, my favourite segment of the show was probably the iconic 
Merlion one – which depicted our national icon as a cartoon character, complaining that he always felt left out of the NDP because he could only watch from across the river. So when he was literally invited over by the emcees, he eagerly jumped into the water and swam quickly to the stage, mingling with fishes along the way. It gave such a human touch to the Merlion.
Team Singapore Athletes
When the Team Singapore athletes, including Paralympian Laurentia Tan, came out to showcase their skills, this was certainly different to just summarising Singapore’s history, from a humble fishing village to a prosperous city.
Theme Song
I also found the theme song, which was sung by 68 Singaporeans from all walks of life, rather touching. These Singaporeans had been selected through a reality show contest. Usually, one or two celebrity singers are selected to perform the theme song. So to involve ordinary Singaporeans, added a really personal touch to the show.
Singlish
Singlish words like “Lah”, “Lor” and “Meh” were also used in the catchy La La La song, sung by Shimona Kee. It was so infectious that the whole audience sang right along with her, myself included.
Ah Boys to Men
Another segment that I really enjoyed was the one whereby the Ah Boys to Men cast performed their popular recruit song. They were accompanied by “future recruits” – children who sang their hearts out likewise, and I thought this simply added to the fun factor of the NDP show.
Fireworks
Of course, the fireworks were one of the major highlights as well. This year, the way that they lit up the night sky was simply spectacular and I could not help but stare in awe, as they exploded simultaneously, for what felt like a full ten or fifteen minutes.
As a whole, it was definitely an intriguing NDP this year.
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