Playlist for Stephanie Sun, Corrinne May, JJ Lin & Kit Chan performing past & present National Day theme songs~!
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SINGAPORE: Tens of thousands surrounded the Padang to mark the day in 1965 when Singapore separated from Malaysia and took its first step towards independence. More than 26,000 gathered at the Padang itself where the first National Day Parade took place in 1966, while many more thronged its surroundings such as Marina Bay and the Marina Barrage.

Fifty years since that fateful day on Aug 9, 1965, the nation threw its biggest party to celebrate its journey, but not without paying a touching tribute to its late founding Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew.

This year, crowd-favourites, the Red Lions were unable to make the jump due to bad weather – the second time since 2013.

“The safety of all our Red Lions performers is our foremost concern. Due to the low cloud cover which obstructed their view of the designated landing area, a decision was made to call off the jump to ensure the safety of the jumpers,” Chairman of the NDP 2015 Executive Committee Brigadier-General Melvyn Ong said in a statement.

For the first time since 1969, foreign leaders were invited to the celebrations, including Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah.

Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong arrived with three surviving signatories of the Independence of Singapore Agreement in 1965. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also received a rousing welcome, but the man who saw the nation through its earliest and darkest days, and for whom Singaporeans had come to reserve the loudest cheer at each Parade, was absent for the first time. Marking his usual seat was a bouquet of flowers.

In previous years, the show segment stood on its own. This year, it was integrated within the larger parade theme. Using multimedia, performances and larger than life props, the show told the Singapore story in six chapters, starting with the arrival of legendary founder Sang Nila Utama and highlighting the role of Singapore's pioneers.

A special vintage segment was a nostalgic throwback to the parades of yesteryear, featuring about 450 participants from nine organisations, all of them donning the uniforms of the 1960s and 1970s.

The segment also featured the Singapore Girl, an international icon in her own right. And for the first time, a Singapore Airlines A380 flew proudly across the Parade.

The parade then welcomed President Tony Tan Keng Yam and spectators watched in awe as 20 fighter jets flew past in a '50' formation in the sky.

The show of might had plenty of heart, highlighting military personnel alongside family members.

As the parade drew to a close, performances by the likes of Stefanie Sun, Corrine May, JJ Lin and Kit Chan kept the crowds entertained and singing along, especially when it came to the rousing song Home.

Before long, the nation stood still, hand to heart, pledging to live up to the ideals the nation's pioneers strove for. They sang in one proud voice, the National Anthem – a call for the country to aspire for success as it has in the last 50 years.

Then the fireworks lit the sky in a burst of glorious colours, capping off a record pyrotechnics display that punctuated the show and kept hundreds of thousands around the Marina Bay at wowed throughout the evening.

www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/ndp-2015-a-celebration/2039362.html

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