ON CUE: Lt-Col Chua leads a team of 35 cue masters and timekeepers to ensure the show segment of the parade runs with clockwork precision. Two others, backed by a team of 15, coordinate the military segment. They work out of a control room above the seating gallery.

 

Lieutenant Colonel Desmond Chua stares at the digital clock in front of him. It reads 17:17:30.He issues a standby cue, then takes another glance at the 70-page cue table on his laptop.

He intones into his microphone: “CE standby for Adrian Pang...CE, go.”

Right on cue, out on the three-tier floating-platform stage, emcee Adrian Pang makes his entrance from stage entrance CE in a Light Strike Vehicle, belting out Reach Out For The Skies.

This kicks off the show segment of the National Day Parade (NDP).

Ensuring that everything runs with clockwork precision during the show segment is the job of Lt-Col Chua, who leads a team of 35 cue masters and timekeepers.

Two others, backed by a team of 15, coordinate the military segment, which involves six guns firing off the 21-gunsalute, 14 aircraft and 2,612 participants in 28 marching contingents.

The unseen executors operate out of a control room perched above the seating gallery, which gives a bird’s eye view of Marina Bay.

From there, Lt-Col Chua ensures that the 5,000 show segment participants, support staff, lights, music and fireworks come together to bring on a perfect show for the bayside crowd and millions watching it on television.

One mistimed cue could mean one big mess.

“Without the cues, the event will not be as tight as it should be. Everything must be right on time,” he said.

Coordinating the 5,000 people in the 12-minute finale takes about 40 cues, or one every 18 seconds.

Mess-ups or unforeseen problems need quick masking.

Low clouds that prevent the parachuting Red Lions from jumping, for example, mean having to keep the crowds distracted – perhaps with an extra

“Marina Wave” or two – while the chopper makes another loop, he said.

Besides Lt-Col Chua, some 3,000 other people have been hard at work behind the scenes to ensure that the nation’s 43rd birthday celebrations go off without a hitch.

These include sound and light engineers and more than 300 volunteer doctors, nurses and paramedics.

And then there is the matter of catering: The 7,300 people taking part in the parade, including those in the military segment of the show, need to be fed.

More than 20,000 meals and over 15,000 litres of drinks will be handed out to participants and helpers. On the menu: Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut, as well as an array of snacks and drinks.

Organisers also have their eye on things beyond the parade: About 35 men at the NDP Operations Centre, comprising staff from the police, the National Environment Agency and even the Health Ministry, are on standby to deal with anything from road accidents to an infectious disease outbreak or a bomb attack.

They are even pretty sure the weather is under control.

It would be “almost impossible” to be caught unawares, especially with updates from the weatherman every three hours, said Colonel Wong Kan Foo, director of the operations centre.

Even if it does drizzle, the show is likely to go on.

Col Wong quipped with a grin: “Why should we let the weather stop us from throwing the biggest party in town?”

 

Playing ‘big brothers’ to 5,000 parade performers

What does it take to herd 5,000 performers – armed with thousands of props – from three holding areas to 12 stage entrances, and on time?

A lot of organisation.

It also helps to have 550 men from the 3rd Guards Battalion, who make up the show-support committee.

The shepherding of the performers in the show segment of the National Day Parade starts from holding areas in Suntec City, Millenia Walk and the Singapore Flyer.

These performers, who will appear in 17 segments of the show and who range in age from nine to 70, are moved in groups of about 300.

It takes close to half an hour to get them to the parade grounds, said Lieutenant-Colonel Mark Tan Ken Li, who oversees the “migration”.

The main event starts at 5.15pm, but work on organising this mass of humanity starts a good seven hours before, with briefings and then sending out 100 buses to pick up the participants from schools and associations.

Beyond getting them to and from the parade, the Guardsmen are required to do a spot of “babysitting”.

Lt-Col Tan, 32, said: “The soldiers make sure the kids behave themselves and don’t use props to fight with one another...After a while, the kids look up to them like big brothers and the men also learn how to be more responsible.”

On hand at all times are first-aid plasters, drinks and even candy to keep the youngest ones in check.

Requiring extra attention are the performers’ props, which include 10 statues, eight giant drums and 4,000 lit plastic stars used in the show finale.

Some of these soldiers have been assigned to operate patrol boats which tow 37 “bay birds”, balloons about half the size of an SBS double-decker bus each.

During the rehearsals, one of the birds snagged on a bridge next to the floating platform and tore, said Lt-Col Tan.

“But they’ll all be in good shape to fly on Aug 9,” he added.