Happy 42nd Birthday Singapore!!

Today is the 42nd birthday of Singapore. We did nothing special for it (except stay home from work and school).

This year, the National Day Parade (NDP) is being held on the water. I believe it's because the old stadium was torn down. The view actually would be perfect from my office, but we didn't go.

Here is some information from Wikipedia, copied without permission.

The National Day Parade (Abbreviation: NDP, Simplified Chinese: 国庆庆典, Malay: Perbarisan Hari Kebangsaan) is a national ceremony in Singapore that, as its name implies, includes a parade on Singapore's national day on August 9, in commemoration of Singapore's independence that is usually held in the Singapore National Stadium, Padang. For the first time in 2007, it will be held in Marina Bay and future NDP will be held here until the new sports hub is completed around 2011.

• The 1968 parade was held during the monsoon season. Some participants and spectators in this parade discussed this issue after the National Day Rally Speech in 2005.
• Princess Alexandra was the special guest of the 1969 parade, which not only celebrated Singapore's 4th birthday, but also celebrated the 150th anniversary of the founding of Singapore.
• Songs for Singapore were first commissioned in 1984, beginning with "Stand Up for Singapore".
• A major change in concept to the NDP was made in 1986. Celebrating Singapore's 21 years of independence, the parade was held in the evening for the first time at the National Stadium. That year also saw the debut of flashlights for audience participation, and grand finale fireworks, following the theme song for that year, "Count On Me Singapore". A large national flag was formed by 7,000 students at the National Stadium, dressed in red and white. Since then, all parades were held from dusk to night, in exception to the parades in 1989 and 1990.
• The Presidential Gun Salute was fired inside the National Stadium in 1994 & 1997.
• The music video of the theme song for the 1999 parade, "Together", was shot by Hong Kong director Tsui Hark, who captured Singapore's multi-racial harmony.
• Flashlights were designed like mobile phones for the first time in the 2004 parade.
• The funpacks in 2005 and 2006 were designed by students from Temasek Polytechnic.
• The National Stadium hosted the NDP for the very last time in 2006. To pay its tribute, the giant cauldron was lit up in the stadium.
• Four guns were used for the Presidential Gun Salute in 2006, instead of the traditional six, due to space constraints as a part of the stadium site had been converted to a car park.
• Apache attack helicopters made a debut in the 2006 parade.
• SAR 21 was being used by the Guard-of-Honour Contigents for the first time in the 2006 parade.
• The 2007 parade will be held for the first time at Marina Bay.
• The 2007 parade will see the largest orchestra ever put together. Made up of 240 musicians from the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the Singapore Chinese Orchestra,Malay and Indian Ensembles and the SAF Central Band.

Actually, I just heard the fireworks, but couldn't see them. We did hear the jet fighters go overhead.

Two weeks ago, Joe and I were out for dinner, we saw a firework display, which I think was practice for the NDP.

For all the details on the celebration, click here.