National Day,; sometimes known internationally as Singapore Independence Day,; is a major public holiday in Singapore which commemorates an independent and

sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title that can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to ...

Republic of Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree o ...

. Held on 9 August since 1965, this holiday features the National Day Parade (NDP), a National Day Message by the

Prime Minister of Singapore The prime minister of Singapore, is the head of government of Singapore. The President of Singapore, president appoints the prime minister on the advice and consent of the Cabinet of Singapore. The incumbent prime minister is Lawrence Wong, ...

and fireworks celebrations, among other festivities.

History

Date of National Day

1960–1963

Singapore initially had a different date for National Day prior to 9 August, when it commemorated 3 June after achieving full internal self-governance from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1959. Between 1960 and 1963, Singapore celebrated National Day on 3 June to mark this occasion and the end of colonial rule.

Festivities

National Day Parade

The Singapore National Day Parade is a national ceremony that is usually held at The Float @ Marina Bay, the

National Stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football ...

at the

Singapore Sports Hub The Singapore Sports Hub (; Malay: Hab Sukan Singapura; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர் விளையாட்டு மையம்) is a sports and recreation district in Kallang, Singapore. The Sports Hub is a 35-hectare public- ...

, or the

Padang Padang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of West Sumatra. It had a population of 833,562 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 909,040 at the 2020 Census;Bad ...

. In 2007, the Parade was held at The Float @ Marina Bay for the first time, and in 2016, it was held at the Singapore Sports Hub. The parade includes performances that depict the yearly theme.

National Day Message

The National Day Message is an annual tradition on 8 August since 1966. In each year's recorded message, the

"examine domestic and global developments, review economic performance and outlook, and outline national priorities and government plans as e inspiresSingaporeans to move forward with a unified sense of purpose".

National Day Rally

On the first or second Sunday following National Day, the prime minister gives an address to the nation at a National Day Rally, which usually features discussions of the country's status and accomplishments, and announcements of future plans and policy changes.

Firework celebrations

National Day celebrations also include

firework Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

s celebrations. They feature several local and foreign teams which launch

s displays on different nights. First held in 2004 at Marina Bay, the event was initially known as the Singapore Fireworks Festival and organised by Unusual Productions. The amount of fireworks used has grown in magnitude over the past three years, from 4,000 rounds used in 2004 to over 9,000 in 2006. In 2012, a Mentos commercial encouraged

procreation Reproduction (or procreation or breeding) is the biological process by which new individual organisms – "offspring" – are produced from their "parent" or parents. There are two forms of reproduction: asexual and sexual. In asexual reprod ...

during the same time as the fireworks celebration.

Notes

References

{{Authority control Annual events in Singapore

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

August observances Public holidays in Singapore