66.6%: We also felt the same!
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Splash of joyful spirit
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Even as the rain falls in Marina Bay, emotions soar as S'pore turns 43 in a dazzling parade </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Jermyn Chow
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
</TD><TD vAlign=bottom>
Mr Edwin Oh (centre), 61, enjoying the performance by the Red Lions in the skies over Marina Bay. The spectator stand turned into a sea of red as the crowd donned ponchos provided in their funpacks. -- ST PHOTO: WANG HUI FEN
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->It rained, a heavy drizzle, but not on their parade.
Spectators, beaming with pride as the nation celebrated its 43rd birthday, began dotting Marina Bay from as early as 10am yesterday.
The sunny start saw umbrellas out. The dressing of choice for many: red.
Hundreds of foreign workers, too, poured into the Esplanade waterfront and the area around the Singapore Flyer, eager to join in the celebrations.
By 5.15pm, as National Day Parade 2008 was about to begin, there was barely elbow room.
Some 27,000 people settled in, ready to be bedazzled by some 7,300 performers and crowd pleasers like the Red Lions parachute team, Black Knights aerobatic jets and fireworks show.
When it started drizzling, it was still a sea of red - as spectators donned red ponchos fished out from the funpacks. Nothing was going to spoil the celebrations.
Many in the crowd took out their silver, yellow and red 'spark cards' and waved 'Shine Singapore'.
From her vantage point as a participant, silat dancer Sabariah Ofnam, 43, reflected on her private journey to owning a pink identity card.
She was still a child when her father, a Singaporean, left his wife who hailed from Java, and their 10 children. Her mother, who toiled as a nanny, yearned to call Singapore home.
Finally, in 1975, at a ceremony, then-prime minister Lee Kuan Yew personally gave out citizenship papers to successful applicants, including her mother.
She said: 'My mother was overjoyed, waving her identity card and telling all how it was her best present ever.'
And so, yesterday, in a silat outfit, Madam Sabariah danced her heart out at NDP 2008.
Her husband, a prison warden, and three school-going children, were also in the orange and blue silat costumes, performing in the first of the three-act show.
She said: 'I feel like a star in front of so many people, showing the world that Singaporeans can excel in anything and have fun.'
Everyone was in high spirits, clapping and singing along to the medley of popular National Day songs such as Stand Up for Singapore and We Are Singapore.
Cheers broke out when the elder statesmen - Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew - arrived, followed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong a little later.
And they resounded again when the guard-of-honour contingent fired three volleys to give President SR Nathan an ear-shattering welcome.
With nightfall, the sky burst into light as the perennial favourite fireworks danced to a medley of songs such as Count On Me Singapore and Home.
The seating gallery erupted into oohs and aahs when S-shaped sparklers sprinkled over Marina Bay, exemplifying the show's theme Shine! Singapore Spirit.
As the National Anthem filled the night air, Madam Sabariah felt a lump in her throat. 'This is one moment I will remember forever... when I saw how we can sing together as one nation and show our never-say-die spirit. It's so shiok.' [email protected]
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Splash of joyful spirit
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Even as the rain falls in Marina Bay, emotions soar as S'pore turns 43 in a dazzling parade </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Jermyn Chow
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
Mr Edwin Oh (centre), 61, enjoying the performance by the Red Lions in the skies over Marina Bay. The spectator stand turned into a sea of red as the crowd donned ponchos provided in their funpacks. -- ST PHOTO: WANG HUI FEN
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"-->It rained, a heavy drizzle, but not on their parade.
Spectators, beaming with pride as the nation celebrated its 43rd birthday, began dotting Marina Bay from as early as 10am yesterday.
The sunny start saw umbrellas out. The dressing of choice for many: red.
Hundreds of foreign workers, too, poured into the Esplanade waterfront and the area around the Singapore Flyer, eager to join in the celebrations.
By 5.15pm, as National Day Parade 2008 was about to begin, there was barely elbow room.
Some 27,000 people settled in, ready to be bedazzled by some 7,300 performers and crowd pleasers like the Red Lions parachute team, Black Knights aerobatic jets and fireworks show.
When it started drizzling, it was still a sea of red - as spectators donned red ponchos fished out from the funpacks. Nothing was going to spoil the celebrations.
Many in the crowd took out their silver, yellow and red 'spark cards' and waved 'Shine Singapore'.
From her vantage point as a participant, silat dancer Sabariah Ofnam, 43, reflected on her private journey to owning a pink identity card.
She was still a child when her father, a Singaporean, left his wife who hailed from Java, and their 10 children. Her mother, who toiled as a nanny, yearned to call Singapore home.
Finally, in 1975, at a ceremony, then-prime minister Lee Kuan Yew personally gave out citizenship papers to successful applicants, including her mother.
She said: 'My mother was overjoyed, waving her identity card and telling all how it was her best present ever.'
And so, yesterday, in a silat outfit, Madam Sabariah danced her heart out at NDP 2008.
Her husband, a prison warden, and three school-going children, were also in the orange and blue silat costumes, performing in the first of the three-act show.
She said: 'I feel like a star in front of so many people, showing the world that Singaporeans can excel in anything and have fun.'
Everyone was in high spirits, clapping and singing along to the medley of popular National Day songs such as Stand Up for Singapore and We Are Singapore.
Cheers broke out when the elder statesmen - Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew - arrived, followed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong a little later.
And they resounded again when the guard-of-honour contingent fired three volleys to give President SR Nathan an ear-shattering welcome.
With nightfall, the sky burst into light as the perennial favourite fireworks danced to a medley of songs such as Count On Me Singapore and Home.
The seating gallery erupted into oohs and aahs when S-shaped sparklers sprinkled over Marina Bay, exemplifying the show's theme Shine! Singapore Spirit.
As the National Anthem filled the night air, Madam Sabariah felt a lump in her throat. 'This is one moment I will remember forever... when I saw how we can sing together as one nation and show our never-say-die spirit. It's so shiok.' [email protected]
