Erich's Wuerstelstand, Chinatown, Singapore: A SYMPHONY OF LIGHTS

Aug 9, 2008

A SYMPHONY OF LIGHTS

Celebrating the Singapore Spirit, a totality of Singapore’s attitudes, beliefs and dreams.
27,000 lucky ones got the chance through a ballot to watch the National Day Parade from the grand stand at Marina Bay.

The huge floating platform was covered in a cloud of lights, sounds and joy with hundreds of performers to celebrate the Nations 43rd Year of Independence.

“The Singapore Spirit” which has brought prosperity, peace and prominence on the international stage for this tiny (in terms of size) city state.

Plurality and the human element played a major role in the conceptualization of this Singapore Spirit. The segments of this National Day Parade showed a mirror image of Singapore’s everyday live. The precision drills of the Military Police Command reflected the discipline of the people they needed getting to where they are today.

The vibrancy and dynamism shown in the performances of the Line Dancers reflected the tendency of Singaporeans to stay young at heart.

Singaporeans from all walks of life took part in the National Day Parade – from the old to the young, from the able-bodied to the physically challenged, all had a part to play, be it participant or spectator. There was perhaps no better tribute to the old Singaporean adage of “unity amidst diversity” than this very fact.

The SAF Red Lions Parachute Display Team was up in the skies once again this year. Besides expanding the number of jumpers to 12, they increased the difficulty of their jumps to live up to expectations of the thousands of spectators. The team executed free fall display from an astonishing 10 000 feet. As a final stunt the Red Lions landed on the narrower promenade instead of the floating platform.

The State Flag fly-past is a long standing tradition at the National Day Parade, a proud and splendid sight when the large Singapore Flag hovered over Marina Bay.

The 12th Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) aerobatics team, the Black Knights, after an 8 year hiatus, was performing for the very first time at Marina Bay and made a triumphant return to the National Day Parade celebrations.

With six new red and white F-16C Fighting Falcons the Black Knights performed breathtaking aerobatics whizzing past in symmetrical formations, flying within mere feet of each other, painting patterns in the sky with their billows of white smoke which really has thrilled the crowds.

Putting the performances together, the work involved in piecing together the whole National Day Parade was a gentle reminder for the need of coordination and collaboration as one Singapore to face the challenges ahead of a globalized world, a weaker economy and higher costs of living due to the highest inflation rate since decades.

In the finale of NDP 2008, when all the performers came together, each holding a star, each and everyone shining for Singapore, all of them, tens of thousands of spectators watching from the Merlion Park, the Esplanade Bridge, the Esplanade Promenade and hundreds of thousands on TV might have experienced this transcendence from a multitude of voices to one single unified voice as well, the voice that people here call the Singapore Spirit.