Singapore National Day 2025: A Really Useful Guide To The National Day Parade & Celebrations

9th August, Singapore’s National Day is a time for celebrating the birth of Singapore as an independent nation and the National Day Parade or NDP is one of the most looked forward to national events of the year. 

National Day 2025 is Singapore’s 60th birthday and it is going to be a great one. Here’s a look at all you need to know about this year’s National Day and NDP. 

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What is Singapore’s National Day?

National Day is a time when Singaporeans come together to remember the country’s independence from Malaysia that came about in 1965, two years after it had joined the Federation in 1963. 

While the separation from Malaysia was a tumultuous one, Singapore has since progressed on and developed into a country that many Singaporeans are proud to call home.

Singapore’s National Day is a time to recall the sacrifices of those who have come before and to look ahead to the future. 

The highlight of National Day is the National Day Parade, an evening spectacle featuring marching contingents on display and performances that reflect the energy of the nation. 

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National Day 2025: What to Expect

National Day 2025 Theme: Together As One United People

The theme for National Day Parade 2025 is Together As One United People. It highlights the collective strength of Singaporeans and underscores the importance of every citizen rallying together to share the future and uplift those around them.

The theme encapsulates the essence of the Nation’s success and resilience. While the road ahead is uncertain, our strength lies within our diversity. It reflects the spirit of Inclusivity, Community and Trust that has enabled us to overcome and flourish in the last 59 years despite the challenges.

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National Day Parade 2025 Logo

The logo for National Day Parade 2025 captures the essence of who we are – diverse, resilient, and always moving forward together.

The “60” and “GO” fuses into a single graphic. Five shooting stars form an upward arrow, representing Singapore’s ideals of democracy, peace, progress, justice and equality.

In a first-of-its-kind initiative, 25 Singaporeans, from artists to athletes, educators to entrepreneurs reinterpreted the NDP logo through their own stories. Each variant reflects personal hopes, memories, and dreams for Singapore, turning a national symbol into a canvas of individual expression. Together, they form a portrait of who we are: many stories, one nation.

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National Day Song 2025

This year’s National Day song “Here We Are” is co-written by Charlie Lim and Chok Kerong, performed by Charlie Lim, Kit Chan and The Island Voices. It pays tribute to the people and spirit of Singapore. 

The music video features a 60-member community choir and a series of vignettes capturing everyday moments of resilience, care, and celebration — scenes that reflect who we are and the home we’ve built together.

You can give it a listen below.

How do you feel about it? You can have your say and read what others are saying in the comments section of the YouTube video.

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National Day Parade 2025 at the Padang

The National Day Parade 2025 on 9 August will be held at the Padang. It will be hosted by Joakim Gomez, Sonia Chew, Siti Khalijah and Ebi Shankara and feature six segments:

• Pre-parade: Makin Our Way
• Parade and Ceremony 
• Mobile Column
• Act One: Our People Our Diversity
• Act Two: Our Future, Our Aspirations
• Act Three: Our Resilience, Our Spirit
• Act Four: Our Unity, Our Strength

You can also watch the live stream on the NDPeeps YouTube channel.

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Pre-parade

The pre-parade segment takes Singaporeans on a musical journey. The segment will open with a musical film for the first time, starring our four hosts, dancers from ITE and TOUCH performers and motivators.

The video features an original NDP song “Makin’ Our Way” and is directed by Benjamin Kheng. This takes audiences from their homes and Marina Bay to the Padang, transitioning seamlessly into live music and dance performances. 

This is followed by the inaugural Jump of Unity with the Red Lions and Republic of Singapore Navy’s Naval Divers descending into the Padang and Marina Bay.

The pre-parade segment culminates with “Our Singapore Wish” through videos in which Singaporeans share aspirations for themselves and their community. This is accompanied by a performance from Combined Schools Band, comprising of students from Tanjong Katong Secondary School, West Spring Secondary School, Yuhua Secondary School, and Combined Choir made up of choristers from Greendale Secondary School and Voices of Singapore.

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Parade & Ceremony

The march begins featuring a live choir! Crowd favourites include the aerial display, Presidential Drive Past, and Feu-de-Joie or Fire of Joy!

This year, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) will be joining the Guard-of-Honour for the very first time! The Singapore Armed Forces Volunteer Corps will also participate as a full contingent for the first time, commemorating their 10th anniversary. 

NDP 2025 marks the largest assembly of marching contingents in NDP’s history, showcasing an unprecedented display of strength and solidarity. The GOH and uniformed groups are joined by 10 youth uniformed group contingents and 18 contingents from the social and economic sectors.

During the F-16 aerial display, two RSAF SPYDERs will enter the Padang’s show centre in support of the aerial activities. The SPYDERs will be featured in its deployed mode, showcasing its capabilities in defending our skies through the use of pyrotechnics to simulate a missile firing and neutralising of the air target.

The second aerial display will showcase an air-sea integrated operation with two AH-64D Apache Attack Helicopters executing a target engagement manoeuvre over the Marina Bay and the Padang in support of the maritime operations.

Two CH-47SD/F Heavy Lift Helicopters, each escorted by two AH-64D Apache Attack Helicopters, will carry the State Flag into the heartlands around Singapore.

From 5.45pm to 6.30pm, they will be flying our State Flag via two routes to bring the NDP festivities to Singaporeans in the heartlands. The Western Route will comprise locations such as Woodlands, Choa Chu Kang, Bukit Batok, Jurong and West Coast. The Eastern Route will comprise locations such as Seletar, Sengkang, Punggol, Pasir Ris, Bedok and East Coast.

Six F-16s will conduct a flypast through the heartlands of Singapore. From around 6pm to 6.30pm, the flypast will greet Singaporeans at various locations around the island, such as Clementi, Jurong West, Choa Chu Kang, Bukit Batok, Woodlands, Toa Payoh, Seletar, Punggol and Bendemeer.

Participating Assets Include:
– CH-47SD/F Heavy Lift Helicopter 
– AH-64D Apache Attack Helicopter
– F-16C/D Fighting Falcon
– Surface-to-Air PYthon-5 and DERby-Air Defence System
(SPYDER)

If you would like to find out more about the flypast around the island, read more about the islandwide flypast and the Fly Our Flag segments.

For your easy reference, we have attached a map above, but do get the details on this separate story on the islandwide flypast and the Fly Our Flag segments.

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Mobile Column

After six years, the Mobile Column makes its grand return! Under the theme “Our Strength, Our People, Our Future”, it will display the combined strength and advanced technological capabilities of the Singapore Armed Forces, Home Team and Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). NDP 2025’s Mobile Column will also celebrate the commitment of generations of Singaporeans to building Singapore’s defence and security.

The Mobile Column will feature 143 assets in a drive-past along St Andrew’s Road, 22 aircraft flying over the Padang, and 5 vessels in the maritime display at the Bay. Over 800 participants and supporting staff from the Singapore Army, Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), Singapore Police Force (SPF), Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) will be involved. Together, the diverse group represents the full spectrum of Singapore’s defence and emergency response capabilities.

In a historic first for NDP, the Mobile Column will feature a new format, integrating an aerial flypast over the Padang and a maritime display at Marina Bay, alongside the traditional drive-past along St Andrew’s Road. An exciting range of assets will also make their Mobile Column debut, including the Singapore Army’s Hunter Armoured Engineer Vehicle and TPQ-53 Weapon Locating Radar, the Republic of Singapore Navy’s Combatant Craft Underwater, the Singapore Police Force’s Tactical Strike Vehicle, and the Singapore Civil Defence Force’s 2nd Generation Medical Support Vehicle. 

To bring the vehicles and crew closer to spectators, selected assets from the Mobile Column will enter the Padang show stage during the drive-past. This will offer spectators in various sectors of the seating gallery a close-up view of the assets.

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National Day Parade Show

The next segments of the National Day Parade 2025 is the show. Expect over 39 artistes and 3000 performers. The Show presents a forward-looking narrative, that evokes belonging, unity and hope among Singaporeans.

It will showcase inclusive performances, intergenerational stories in show films and familiar yet deeply emotive songs. 

Our favourite singalongs and mass performances will take place over four acts. 

• Act One: Our People Our Diversity

Act One celebrates the vibrant tapestry of Singapore’s diverse society through music, dance, colourful costumes and dazzling fireworks.

It opens with the NDP 2025 theme song, “Here We Are”. The duet celebrates the enduring Singapore spirit and the resilience and unity of Singaporeans, and encourages Singaporeans to reflect on our shared journey, and revisit what ‘home’ means to us as we journey together beyond SG60.

The performance is followed by a powerful spoken rendition of our National Anthem by Ramli Sarip. Then the performances bursts into a vibrant musical extravaganza, featuring 400 performers from Republic Polytechnic, and 70 performers from Martial House. The Act portrays diversity in its traditional and modern form, as well as our coming together to form a collective destiny.

• Act Two: Our Future, Our Aspirations

The next Act shifts to a more reflective mood, with the visual aesthetic evoking a starry night, creating a dreamy atmosphere that encourages reflection and aspiration.

Listen out for another original NDP song “I Will Walk With You”, written, composed and performed by Linying. The song encourages audience to reflect on their individual hopes and dreams.

Next up, Heema Izzati will deliver a heartfelt rendition of Charlie Lim’s original composition “Room at the Table”. Initially conceived for NDP 2018, the song was only completed in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Charlie finished the piece as an intimate appeal for a kinder, more inclusive society.

Eight unique floats designed by talented artists with disabilities will be featured in this act, with four land floats at the Padang and four water floats at the Marina Bay. Each float showcases vibrant artistic expressions of their visions of the future. The floats move in synchronicity, as artworks from the water floats transform Marina Bay’s architectural canvas, with building facades coming alive through stunning projections that showcase the expanded canvas in Marina Bay. 

Look out for the 608 performers from SOKA Gakkai Singapore, 108 performers from Greendale Secondary, 25 performers from the Voices of Singapore and 16 performers from Pathlight Singapore. For the first time, eight dancers from Diverse Abilities Dance Collective of Maya Dance Theatre are also performing in this NDP.

• Act Three: Our Resilience, Our Spirit

Act Three centres on resilience through family bonds and the community spirit, acknowledging the efforts of generations who have paved the way for Singapore. It invites Singaporeans to shift their focus to the power of community.

Audience at the Padang will witness national icon Dick Lee singing “We Will Get There”in a helium-filled balloon that will float at the show centre. In addition, this Act will include a special cross-venue performance of the NDP 2024 theme song “Not Alone”. Beloved national songstress Rahimah Rahim will take centre stage at the Padang, performing a duet with the song’s composer and singer Benjamin Kheng, who will be in the Marina Bay performing on a NDP mobile floating stage. 

The Act is supported by 401 performers from the People’s Association. Performers will also bring in coloured cloths which symbolise the individual threads coming together to form the fabric of our diverse communities in the nation.

• Act Four: Our Unity, Our Strength

Keep your spirits up for the finale Act. 

Featuring 398 performers from the Ministry of Education, 57 performers from SMU Samba Masala, 15 performers from MINDS, 17 performers from the Extraordinary People, 30 dancers from the STNY Brothers, and 59 performers from ITE!

Act Four brings the National Anthem to life, embodying the NDP 2025 theme “Majulah Singapura”. It unites the dreams and aspirations of individual Singaporeans with our shared resilience into our collective national destiny, and beckons Singaporeans to come together and shape the future as one.

There will be a synchronised drumming performance across the Padang and the Marina Bay. SMU Samba Masala Drummers at the Padang will be accompanied by drummers from Extraordinary People and MINDS at the NTUC building and Marina Bay Sands Singapore, respectively, to deliver a unique take on the NDP 2021 theme song “The Road Ahead”.

The Act will culminate in a finale sing-along segment to crowd favourite songs such as “Stand Up For Singapore”, “One People, One Nation”, “Where I Belong”, “We are Singapore” and “Count on Me”. The sing-along segment will be in sync with a stunning fireworks display, lighting up the Padang and the Marina Bay, with a unique fireworks design to commemorate 60 years of Singapore’s independence (“SG60”).

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Fireworks for the NDP Finale

Station yourself at the Marina Bay area for the stunning display of fireworks between 7.30 pm to 8.25 pm on 9 August.

Here are some recommended spots to get the best vantage point:
– Marina Bay Sands Observation Deck
– Gardens by the Bay’s Bay East Garden
– The Lawn at Marina Bay Financial Centre
– Faber Peak
– High Street Centre Carpark
– Marina Barrage
– The Promontory at Marina Bay
– Esplanade Roof Terrace
– Merlion Park, Esplanade Bridge, Jubilee Bridge
– Helix Bridge
– Funan Mall rooftop

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Fireworks at Heartland Celebrations

A highlight of each year’s National Day Parade is the fireworks display. This year, choose to celebrate in the heartlands with static displays of SAF, SPF and SCDF assets, carnival activities, family activities, stage performances and fireworks!

This year, fireworks will go off at the Padang and five heartland sites around the island on 10 August. These heartland sites are:

• Yishun, open field next to Futsal Arena
• Punggol, open field next to One Punggol
• Eunos, open field next to Geylang Serai
• Toa Payoh, CHIJ Primary and Secondary
• Bukit Gombak ActiveSG Stadium

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NDP Previews and National Education Shows

In addition to the National Day Parade on 9 August, here are some of the rehearsal dates leading up to the actual day. 

NE Shows: 28 June, 5, 12, 19 July 2025
NDP Previews: 26 July, 2 August 2025
NDP 2025: 9 Aug 2025