S'pore teens say seeing generations come together at NDP 2026 made the future feel 'less scary'

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‘Don’t let it take over our jobs’: Singapore teens share hopes for technology after NDP 2026

The last time Katie Cheng and Emma Thio attended the National Day Parade (NDP), they were Secondary 3 students.

Now 17, they returned for NDP 2026 at the National Stadium, where the larger crowd, bigger screens, and high-tech performances gave the experience a noticeably different feel.

Yet amid all the spectacle, what stood out most to the teenagers was something much simpler: the people.

Seeing Singaporeans across different generations come together to celebrate left them feeling more patriotic and a little more reassured about an uncertain future.

Teens struck by bigger crowd and high-tech NDP spectacle

Ms Cheng and Ms Thio last attended an NDP event when they were in Secondary 3, when their National Education (NE) show was held at the Padang before a crowd of about 27,000.

This year, they watched NDP 2026 at the National Stadium on the actual day, alongside a 42,000-strong crowd.

“It felt much, much bigger,” Ms Cheng told MS News.

Ms Thio agreed, describing the atmosphere as more “holistic”, with many more people around them and a greater sense of being close to the action.

Technology was another noticeable difference. Ms Cheng described this year’s show as “so futuristic”, while Ms Thio pointed to what she saw as more applied artificial intelligence (AI) being incorporated into the performances.

The pair were watching a show that had gone all-in on spectacle. NDP 2026 featured 300 drones flying 30m above the stadium floor, alongside aerial performers, projection mapping, and an LED performance tower.

Image courtesy of NDP 2026 EXCO

For the teens, the larger scale and more technology-heavy production made this year’s NDP feel noticeably different from the one they remembered from secondary school.

But technology was not the only thing that made the night memorable.

Phua Chu Kang brings back childhood memories

Amid the futuristic visuals, one of Ms Cheng’s favourite moments came from a familiar face from the past.

When Gurmit Singh appeared as Phua Chu Kang, she immediately recognised the character she had grown up watching.

Actually seeing him here and people dressing up as him really warmed my heart. I was like, ‘Woah, that’s him!’

Source: Entertainment – Mediacorp on YouTube

Ms Thio also found herself transported back to her school days by familiar National Day songs.

“It’s like memories of singing those songs in the school hall and everybody just being very happy,” she said. “It’s very sweet.”

While this year’s production leaned heavily into technology, the familiar songs, characters, and National Day traditions gave the teenagers a sense of continuity with the celebrations they remembered growing up.

Seeing different generations made the future ‘less scary’

But beyond the technology and nostalgia, what resonated most was the people around them.

For Ms Thio, seeing so many Singaporeans come together at NDP made the future feel a little less daunting.

As a young person who will eventually enter the workforce, she acknowledged that what lies ahead can feel uncertain. Yet watching people support and celebrate with one another made that uncertainty feel more manageable.

I feel quite reassured after today, seeing how so many people can come together and support one another.

She also pointed to the message behind the show’s main song, ‘Giants’, which speaks of standing on the shoulders of those who came before.

That sense of community, she said, helped ease some of her uncertainty about what the future might hold.

“Even though the workforce in the future seems very uncertain, and you don’t know how it’s going to play out, knowing that there’s a lot of community and support in Singapore just makes it less scary.”

For Ms Cheng, that same sense of community also shaped what she hopes Singapore will become.

She hopes the country will grow more inclusive towards people with special needs and those facing mental health struggles, and that people will not be reduced to labels.

The futuristic nature of this year’s NDP also got Ms Thio thinking about how Singapore should approach technology in the years ahead.

She hopes the country can continue embracing it, but in a safe and thoughtful way.

“I hope to see Singapore continue to apply technology, but safely,” she mused. “Not let it overtake us, but integrate it into our daily lives without letting it take over all our jobs.”

Young adults feel the same sense of pride

The teenagers were not alone in leaving the celebration with a stronger sense of pride.

Javier, 24, and Rio, 22, were also no strangers to NDP, having attended in previous years.

Mr Javier, an SIT mechanical engineering student, even marched in the Army contingent at NDP 2023.

Mr Rio, who is currently serving National Service, won tickets to the 2024 NDP through a contest that involved completing the lyrics to National Day song ‘Not Alone’.

Asked how this year’s show compared with previous editions, Mr Javier said the light displays stood out more inside the stadium, while Mr Rio described the atmosphere as “electrifying”.

“Especially at the end with the DJ set, where everybody came together to party hard all the way through the night,” Mr Rio said.

Pride comes with hopes for Singapore’s future

Beyond the spectacle, the celebration also prompted Mr Javier to reflect on how young Singaporeans view the country and its future.

“As much as we complain about things sometimes, I think it’s a natural part of striving to be better every year,” he said.

For him, the occasion offers a chance to put those everyday frustrations aside and remember what Singaporeans have achieved.

Every year during National Day, we are reminded that there are still things to be proud of, as Singaporeans and for Singapore as a whole. There’s so much more for us to continue to work towards.

That sense of togetherness was also central to Mr Rio’s hopes for Singapore.

He hopes the country will continue to maintain its racial harmony, so people can celebrate National Day together regardless of race, language, or religion.

A 53-year-old sees how much has changed

For Mr Imran, a 53-year-old safety professional, NDP 2026 offered a much longer lens on how the celebration has evolved.

The last time he attended NDP was in 1997.

Nearly three decades later, he returned and found this year’s celebration much more “people-centric”.

Older NDPs, he recalled, focused more heavily on marching.

Source: National Archives of Singapore via Roots.gov.sg

This time, audiences had more opportunities to participate in the festivities, something he felt made the atmosphere noticeably different.

He was also struck by the show’s nostalgic look at Singapore’s television history.

“Very interesting. A lot of flashbacks,” he said, adding that it showcased the transition in television and how Singapore’s media landscape had changed over the years.

Source: NDPeeps on YouTube

Despite the technological advances and changes in how NDP is staged, his feelings about the country remained simple:

I’m proud to be Singaporean.

Different generations, one celebration

For Mr Imran, NDP 2026 offered a chance to compare the celebration with one he had attended nearly three decades ago.

For Mr Javier and Mr Rio, it was a reminder that even with the country’s shortcomings, there is still plenty to be proud of, and plenty more to work towards.

For Ms Cheng and Ms Thio, it was a return to an experience they had last enjoyed during their secondary school days, this time on a larger stage and with a more technology-heavy production.

They noticed the spectacle, enjoyed the nostalgia, and left feeling more patriotic.

Across the generations, one thing stood out: the sense of people sharing the same space and celebrating the same country.

For teenagers looking ahead to an uncertain future, that sense of community made what comes next feel a little less scary.

Technology may keep advancing, and NDP may continue evolving with it. But amid all that change, this year’s celebration also showed how familiar traditions and a shared sense of community continue to hold their place.