SINGAPORE \u2013 Despite the relentless afternoon heat, empty spaces around the National Stadium and along the Kallang Basin quickly filled up with picnic mats, foldable chairs and ice coolers as people staked out their spots ahead of the National Day Parade on Aug 9.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Many said they were looking forward to the main fireworks display at 8.15pm.<\/p>\n Among them was Ho Kien Mun, 57, who arrived alone at 1pm and set up his red-and-white checkered picnic mat on the bank of the Kallang Basin, close to Nicoll Highway MRT station.<\/p>\n \u201cI came here so early because I\u2019m kiasu. I\u2019m the advance party,\u201d said Ho, adding that eight family members and friends planned to join him at 4pm.<\/p>\n The business development director said he had spent the last week scouting out the best areas to catch the fireworks, and finally settled on his spot because it provided the most shade.<\/p>\n Ho Kien Mun (behind flag), with (first row from left) Ang Shihui, Yifan, Duoduo, Yiji, (second row from left) Zhang Sijuan, Li Ting, Jacky Wang, (third row from left) Dan Na Wu, and Howard Yang, at Republic Avenue on Aug 9.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: SARAH LEE<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n He added that he is most excited to hear the marching commands during the ceremonial parade and the feu de joie, or the fire of joy, because they represent Singapore\u2019s sovereignty.<\/p>\n Basking in the excitement outside the stadium was 46-year-old Ong Rui Yang, who last visited the Kallang area for National Day 10 years ago, when the parade was last held in the National Stadium.<\/p>\n Back then, it was just him and his wife. This year, the couple returned with two additions – their children, aged four and seven – to continue their annual tradition of joining in the festivities near the parade venue.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is different now, since our kids are here with us. We came early to soak in the atmosphere by wearing red and pasting face stickers, since we were unable to get tickets to watch the parade,\u201d the accountant said.<\/p>\n The family will be returning to their home in Mountbatten to watch the parade on TV and view the fireworks from their window.<\/p>\n This year marks the first time since 2016 that the NDP will be held in the National Stadium,<\/span><\/a> which holds about 42,000 spectators.<\/p>\n At around 4pm, NDP mascots began to appear outside the Kallang Wave Mall, with crowds flocking to snap a picture with them.<\/p>\n A light haze hung over the area, where police officers and other authorities dotted the surrounding spaces, keeping watch as lines formed to enter the stadium.<\/p>\n In the queue were students Jefferson Tan and Jerline Xu, who gushed about getting their hands on NDP tickets on their second attempt, after trying to maximise their chances by balloting separately.<\/p>\n Said 19-year-old Tan: \u201cWe had no expectations of getting it this quick, since there are so many people who don\u2019t manage to get it even after years of trying.\u201d<\/p>\n For others like Haneef, who declined to give his full name, being able to watch the parade live has been 10 years in the making.<\/p>\n The 35-year-old lift specialist, who was in line with his family of five, said: \u201cThis is our tenth time trying to get tickets. We got six of them, which is the maximum limit.\u201d<\/p>\n Student Asher Ang even made sure his pets – two lovebirds and a cockatiel – got to join in the festivities.<\/p>\n Asher Ang with his pet birds.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The 14-year-old, who cycled to the stadium from his home in Serangoon with his birds in a wagon, said: \u201cI brought them out to enjoy and have a change of scenery.\u201d<\/p>\n Ang said the birds do not get overwhelmed, and that he frequently brings them out to sightsee.<\/p>\n Some non-Singaporeans also gathered before the parade to share in the buzz.<\/p>\n Joy Garcia, 43, arrived near the Kallang Basin with her husband and two sons at about 11.45am to get a good viewing spot.<\/p>\n The stay-at-home mum, who is from the Philippines, said she was grateful for Singapore\u2019s multiculturalism.<\/p>\n (From left) Filipino nationals Jodel Nicolo Garcia, Joy Garcia, Jodel Nevin Garcia, and Rodel Garcia, at Republic Avenue on Aug 9.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: SARAH LEE<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n And Karan Singh, who is visiting family here from Australia, decided to set up a picnic with his wife and cousins near the Water Sports Centre.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m so excited to see how Singaporeans celebrate their National Day. I would\u2019ve loved to see how the actual parade would be like, but I\u2019ve heard the fireworks are amazing and up close here.\u201d<\/p>\n The 34-year-old who works in the finance industry added: \u201cJust walking from the MRT station, you can feel the patriotic spirit and how everyone is so excited to celebrate Singapore. I\u2019m so happy to get the chance to be here today.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n SINGAPORE \u2013 Despite the relentless afternoon heat, empty spaces around the National Stadium and along the Kallang Basin quickly filled up with picnic mats, foldable…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":75199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=75198"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75198\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/75199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=75198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=75198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=75198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/picture><\/div>
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