How tech is bringing this year’s NDP to you

You won't be needing one of those coveted National Day Parade tickets to experience Singapore's birthday celebrations this year.

A reimagined parade will see popular segments taking place in the heartlands, with digital channels enabling Singaporeans to be a part of festivities from the comfort of their homes.

On our end, the GovTech team has been busy building an interactive map – so that Singaporeans will be able to better enjoy Singapore's 55th birthday bash from the comfort of their homes.

Here's how to use it to have the best national day possible. Or at least in theory.

Highlight 1: Fireworks, tanks, and flying men - check out where they are!

No NDP is complete without the parade. The showcase will be dispersed around Singapore this year. Some of these perennial crowd-pleasers are:

• Heartland Fireworks Display

• Red Lion's Landing Zones

• SAF's Mobile Column featuring everyone's favourite military and civil defence vehicles

The NDP2020 Interactive Map will be updated with the position of these elements so that you won't miss the tanks as they rumble by your home or the fireworks display if you live near one of these 10 locations. The elite Red Lions will also be parachuting into the heartlands, so check out if your neighbourhood is one of the landing sites.

That aside, there are also quite a few fringe activities unique to this year's celebrations. Use the map to see what's near you. Some of these include:

Heritage and Culture light up. 10 national monuments and arts and cultural institutions will be illuminated in red and white. Great for pictures!

Museum and Heritage Institution Open House Weekends. Great opportunity to take stock of how far we've come – and inspiration for ideas on how to move forward.

The Flag of Unity. A massive display of over 10,000 Singapore flags. This one's at Siloso Beach, so technically, you won't need our map for it. 😂

You can also post your birthday wish for Singapore on the map (all the way till 10pm on August 9 2020) and be part of the collective celebrations all over the country.

Highlight 2: Get your discounts

Every Singaporean loves a good bargain, and this year's NDP discount booklet - featuring over 100 discounts - is going fully digital so there's no more misplacing those coupons!

Choose discounts from a wide variety of categories such as food & beverages, grocery shopping, and local attractions like the Singapore Zoo and Sentosa.

Highlight 3: Connect with fellow Singaporeans through your stories

2020 has been a year of unprecedented challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. A major component of this year's NDP will capture the voices of Singaporeans coming together to overcome this hurdle.

Share your reflections on the impact these few months have had and express your thanks to the frontline and essential workers who are keeping Singapore ticking during these extraordinary times. These stories and messages of gratitude can be shared on Facebook or Instagram by using the #OurHeartForSG hashtag and tagging the NDPeeps accounts or through the Our Heart For SG website.

Highlight 4: Get featured on the parade's social media!

Your contribution doesn't have to be in the form of words or photos. Break out your singing voice and record your rendition of any NDP song or even an original composition. Your entry might just be shared on NDPeep's YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram pages.

Painting the HDB towns red (and white)

We know what you're thinking: All these high-tech wizardry can't make up for the fact that there's no large-scale, mass gathering - the only way we've been doing NDP so far.

Well, we used to think the same about work and offices, too. However, one of the things we've learned from this COVID-19 episode is that for many jobs, working from home can be as productive or even more so.

So, give this digital-and-physical hybrid of an NDP to shine.

Who knows, we may have discovered a whole new way to party.