NDP Parade Rehearsals will Affect 4 Bus Services for 3 Saturdays

NDP 2020 may have been compromised in light of the circumstances, but it seems that this year’s rendition is set to be back in all of its glory;

Though it would still feature lesser spectators and participants than in yesteryears.

While that would certainly be a great revelation for all the avid fans of our country, it does come with a particular complication.

After all, NDP parades aren’t routinely conducted without prior rehearsals, and everyone knows how space-consuming some army vehicles could be.

NDP Parade Rehearsals will Affect 4 Bus Services for 3 Saturdays

According to The Straits Times,  bus service no.s 75, 857, 960 and 960e will be skipping a stop for the next three Saturdays, in light of impending National Day Parade rehearsals.

The information was released by SMRT in a statement earlier today (2 July 2021).

According to the news report, the bus services will be skipping The Float @ Marina Bay bus stop (02051), from 11am to 8pm on July 3, 10 and 17.

So to readers who might be passing by the area on the aforementioned dates, please keep a lookout!

NDP 2021

Unlike last year whereby we only get to watch the celebration on TV, this year’s celebration would be more similar to what we’re used to: live performances with spectators.

However, there would be a few key differences:

• There will be fewer participants and spectators
• Performers have to undergo antigen rapid test before every rehearsal
• Spectators must undergo pre-event testing
• All spectators must be fully vaccinated

In previous years, the crowd would be about 25,000 people.

Like last year, there will still be heartland activities, so make sure you look left and right before you cross any road on 9 August 2021.

Of course, people would be asking: with community cases still detected in Singapore every day, why not just do what we did last year?

Dr Hen said, “Part of it is learning to live with the disease, an endemic disease. And by August, we hope two-thirds of our population would have received the vaccination.

“The short answer is that we think it can be held safely, and it’s an appropriate occasion to shift to living with the disease, but managing it so that you can get back to a new normal.”

It’s unknown whether there would still be fireworks.

Rehearsals

Lest you’ve forgotten, we’re just one month away from National Day, and usually, the performers would rehearse months before the parade. This means the performers now have less time to prepare, to which Dr Hen said, “We hope that Singaporeans will understand if the show isn’t as well prepared as in previous years, we’ve had less time to prepare.”

The NDP organising committee will provide more details in a few days’ time.

Featured Image: Dr David Sing/ shutterstock.com