16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Ticket balloting opens for NTUC's NDP celebrations at Marina Bay; nearly 20,000 attendees expected
Ms Natasha Choy (centre, left), co-chairwoman of the NTUC NDP Bay Celebrations organising committee, with rapper Shigga Shay (centre, right) and youth volunteers. ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
SINGAPORE – Close to 20,000 people will celebrate Singapore's 60th birthday at The Promontory @ Marina Bay in 2025, an increase from about 15,000 in 2024.
This is because the NTUC National Day Parade (NDP) Bay Celebrations will take place on three days – July 26, Aug 2, and Aug 9 – up from two in 2024.
The celebrations will take place alongside the NDP preview shows and the actual NDP at the Padang.
The bay celebrations are part of an 'expanded canvas' to mark Singapore's 60th year of independence.
Ticket balloting for the event – co-organised by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and the National Day Parade executive committee (NDP Exco) – opened at 5pm on June 20 and will close at 5pm on July 4.
Singaporeans and Permanent Residents can apply for tickets at Each person can ballot for only two tickets.
All attendees will receive an NDP pack.
On all three days of celebrations, doors will open at 4pm for attendees, and performances by local artistes like Estelle Fly, Regina Song, Shabir Sulthan and Shazza will begin at 4.15pm.
This will be followed by a live broadcast of the NDP preview shows or the actual NDP.
During the broadcast, the NTUC symbolic moment will take place, with youth dancers and youth motivators forming a flash mob set with a remix of National Day songs.
The night will end with performances by local rapper Shigga Shay and DJ Caden.
Ms Natasha Choy, who is the co-chairwoman of the organising committee, said: 'This year, the NTUC NDP Bay celebrations are back, bigger and bolder, as we celebrate Singapore's 60th birthday.
'The theme for our celebrations is 'Majulah SG Youth', and we want to shine the spotlight on ( our young people's) passion and purpose.'
In 2025, 24 youth leaders are part of the youth organising committee for the bay celebrations, which will involve more than 1,000 youth volunteers.
Shigga, who will headline the show, told the media on June 20 that he will perform a 30-minute set featuring songs that reflect Singapore culture.
One of them is his newest track, Peng, which features Singlish lyrics and words used by Singaporeans in their daily lives.
'It's a song that I created for Singapore. It represents everyday sounds and everyday words that we hear, like when you go to a drink stall and order drinks (like) kopi peng and Milo peng,' said the 32-year-old singer, referring to iced coffee and iced Milo. He also performed at the NDP in 2022 and 2023.
At the bay, attendees can also enjoy a series of interactive installations created by more than 11,000 participants of NTUC roadshows at 14 institutes of higher learning from April to July.
Among the works is Dream Exchange, a phone booth-style installation that plays more than 6,000 greetings recorded by students during the roadshows.
Dream Exchange, a phone booth-style installation that plays more than 6,000 greetings recorded by students during the roadshows.
ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
Another installation is a collage of doodles by students, depicting how they view and relate to Singapore.
A third installation, titled The Future We Create, is an AI-powered visual showcase generated from words penned by students on their vision of Singapore's future.
There will also be an NTUC booth which provides resources for youth to pursue their aspirations. One of these is a career personality quiz, Rise And Grind, which helps youth explore job options that match their personalities.
Mr Timothy Lim Zhi Heng, a third-year student at Singapore Polytechnic, is one of the student volunteers who helped create the personality quiz.
Mr Timothy Lim Zhi Heng, one of the student volunteers who helped create the career personality quiz Rise And Grind for an NTUC booth.
ST PHOTO: GAVIN FOO
The 19-year-old, who is part of the marketing and communications team for the bay celebrations, told The Straits Times that his team helped to proofread the text for the quiz.
He also helped to man the Dream Exchange installation at some of the roadshows.
'It was very fulfilling to see our hard work for the past five months come together, seeing the different installations pieced together and being brought to life,' he said.
Successful ticket applicants will receive an e-mail from the organisers by July 8.
The collection of tickets can be done from July 12 to July 13 and from July 18 to July 20 at the Great World, at the atrium on level one.
Those collecting tickets on behalf of successful applicants will need to present the notification e-mail, the applicants' NRIC and their own NRIC.
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