NDP 2027 to return to the Padang to celebrate 60 years of national service

The Padang can accommodate about 27,000 spectators.

The minister was speaking at an appreciation function held at D’Marquee in Downtown East.

During the event, Chan gave out awards to 27 gold award recipients and 109 principal partners for their contributions to NDP 2026. The gold award recipients included the parade’s creative director Brian Gothong Tan, chairman of the show committee Wong Zeng Yu, and executive committee chairman Lim Han Yong.

The principal partners included Nanyang Polytechnic’s School of Design and Media, volunteer group Heartwarmers and Defence Collective Singapore.

Chief of Defence Force Aaron Beng handed out 396 other awards at the function.

Chan, who is also the Coordinating Minister for Public Services, acknowledged that NDP 2026 was not easy, as it was held at the National Stadium for the first time in 10 years.

“It was in some sense a brand-new experience for many. We don’t have many people who have organised the NDP previously in the stadium still with us in the organising team,” he said.

Some of the difficulties, he noted, included having to accommodate the higher number of spectators, the size of the stage – which was about 30 per cent bigger than that of the Padang – as well as the expectations of spectators, who were accustomed to watching traditional elements like the Red Lions.

While there were 42,000 spectators in the stadium enjoying the show, there was no mobile column, Red Lions and aerial display due to “safety and operational concerns”.

But the people behind the show made NDP 2026 a special one, Chan added. Besides their sterling performance, he said they displayed a willingness to try different things and a constant striving for improvement to make the show a better one.

Chan said there were more than 10,000 people behind the scenes to ensure that everything was running smoothly. These included personnel who looked after the food and logistics, as well as those who were stationed outside the stadium to help manage crowds.

“The venue will never define the experience. It is the people, the processes behind that will define our experience,” he said.

“What made the NDP special was not just the new ideas from the executive committee or the creative team, it was the fact that each and every one of you pulled your weight and made something special out of the ordinary.”