From rain to fireworks: Singapore celebrates 60 years at NDP 2025

The first drops of rain fell just before the music began.

They dotted the Padang like quiet punctuation, a reminder that this year’s National Day Parade (NDP), celebrating Singapore’s 60th, would be marked by more than just fireworks.

It was a night of homecomings, goodbyes, and new beginnings — a celebration where strangers sang together, and generations passed the baton under a sky lit by jets and fire.

For the first time since 2019, foreign dignitaries joined the festivities.

Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Johor’s Regent Tunku Ismail, and Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi were among this year’s spectators, sharing the city’s diamond jubilee.

Homecomings under grey skies

When the Red Lions and Republic of Singapore Navy Naval Divers performed the inaugural “Jump of Unity”, a ripple of awe passed through the stands.

Parachutes bloomed above, their colours vivid against the pale, rainwashed sky.