NDP 2026 guidelines updated for National Stadium

Checks by The Straits Times at 1pm on July 4 showed that the official website had yet to be updated.

The rules were announced as part of an overall safety alert. Other banned items include weapons, protective and security gear, canned items, water bottles containing liquid, and drones.

The ban on live streaming and professional cameras was called into question by landscape photographer Darren Soh in a Facebook post on the night of July 3.

“Wait a minute – since when are NDP attendees not allowed to bring professional grade photography equipment to the Parade?” Soh said in his post.

Under Soh’s post, another user, EuJin Goh, said: “We’re getting more and more ludicrous.”

Another user, Hester Tan, wondered if it was due to the National Stadium’s own rules.

Soh said the stadium bans “professional” equipment for its commercial events because it does not want people to resell images of stars like Taylor Swift or Ronaldo. But this, Soh added, is the NDP.

NDP fan Kenneth Chiang, 30, said the revision “makes much more sense” and thanked organisers for listening to feedback from the public.

“The original ban on professional cameras did not make much sense,” he said. “Especially since NDP is a national community event unlike a commercial concert, which is understandable.”

He said many members of the photography community were shocked that the rule even applied for NDP, noting that earlier editions, whether at the Floating Platform or Padang, never had such rules banning professional cameras.

“The ban on professional cameras could also lead to a gaping hole in the social memories of such an event coming back to a historic venue after so long,” the photographer, who has watched the parade on site annually since 2009, told ST.

“It would be quite sad if 10, 20 years from now, people can only look back on poorly taken mobile phone shots or Instagram reels without high quality documentation.”

“I think now that the Government owns the Sports Hub, it should adjust the rules to be more community friendly rather than one run commercially,” he added.

The 2026 parade is expected to attract about 42,000 people to the 55,000-capacity stadium.

ST has contacted the Ministry of Defence for more information.