I stopped watching the NDP. I never stopped celebrating S’pore
This year’s National Day Parade (NDP) will return to the National Stadium — but without the signature mobile column, aerial display and Red Lions.
The announcement disappointed many Singaporeans who had grown up looking forward to these National Day staples.
I wasn’t one of them.
If I’m being honest, I stopped paying much attention to the parade sometime after Primary Five, when I sat through it in the sweltering heat, demolished everything edible in my Fun Pack and spent the rest of the afternoon wondering when I could finally go home.
That’s not to diminish the effort behind the parade. Producing an event of this scale is an extraordinary feat, and every now and then, a segment genuinely surprises me.
In 2025, singer-songwriter Benjamin Kheng directed Makin’ Our Way, the pre-parade musical film which saw hosts Joakim Gomez, Sonia Chew, Ebi Shankara and Siti Khalijah — along with a whole host of performers — literally make their way to the parade at the Padang.
It reminded me that Singapore’s greatest strength has always been its people.
Apart from moments like these, though, one could say I have simply grown desensitised to the displays of military strength and the song and dance that tell the familiar story of Singapore’s rise from a sleepy fishing village to an economic miracle.
That’s not to say I don’t love Singapore or celebrate National Day in my own ways.
I had simply found different ways to do so.
Rejoicing with community
My first re-engagement with National Day came through a community whose stories are rarely — if ever — told on the NDP stage: the LGBTQ+ community.
In 2022, I attended Wetter Together, a queer National Day party at the (now shuttered) Projector X: Riverside. The event was hosted by local burlesque performer Lychee Bye, and drag queen Becca D’Bus and only admitted attendees who were 18 years of age and older.
The tagline? “National Day, but queer, so with aircon.”
Being around a tight-knit community — with fun activities that spotlighted local queer talent and drinking games that lovingly teased NDP cliches — was a new and moving way of celebrating our nation’s birthday.
I enjoyed it so much that I signed up for its 2024 iteration, Watch It Wet, with a friend who gamely dressed up as a samsui woman while I turned up in a boring red tee.
Lychee Bye and Becca D’Bus were joined by TikToker Daisy Anne Mitchell, local actor Gurmit Singh — who is the burlesque performer’s father. The commentary was beautifully irreverent, and it filled my heart with pride to see attendees dress up as Singapore icons.
And yes, there was air-conditioning and alcohol, which certainly didn’t hurt.
In years I’m feeling more quiet, I’m lucky enough to also have a friend who enjoys cooking and hosting our friend group regularly, who will open her doors on special occasions such as National Day.
About seven of us gather at the cosy two-room Serangoon flat she shares with her husband, savouring a delicious feast with the parade playing in the background while we catch up.
As she lives on the highest floor, we are treated to a fairly unobstructed view of the skies. We pause to admire the aerial display, flag flypast, and later at night, the vibrant fireworks.
I realised somewhere along the way that I wasn’t showing up for the parade anymore. Rather, I was showing up for the people around it.
This year, while others lament the absence of the mobile column or the Red Lions, I’ll be at a wedding instead of an NDP watch party.
Whether I’m laughing through drag queen commentary, sharing dinner with friends or celebrating two people starting a life together, those are the moments that make me feel more Singaporean than any flypast ever could.
The NDP may remind us why Singapore exists and continues to thrive, but it’s the people around us that remind us why we call this nation our home.
Hot Takes are opinion pieces written by Stomp journalists, based on their personal experiences and viewpoints. They reflect the writer’s perspective and do not necessarily reflect the views of SPH Media.
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