The Singapore Spirit is an essential element in maintaining a Singaporean core in our society, and it must be imbued in the next generation of youth – Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong

PM Lee was speaking at the annual National Day Rally 2010 in the University Cultural Centre at the National University of Singapore, where he also explained that the Singapore Spirit is anchored on “deeper things which Singaporeans share” – shared values such as multiracialism, meritocracy and respect for every talent.

What exactly is the Singapore Spirit can be interpreted in many different ways by different Singaporeans – perhaps this is one of the reasons why the theme for this year’s National Day Parade (NDP) 2011 is Majulah! The Singapore Spirit.

Majulah means “Onward!”. It represents our strength, energy and dynamism to continually strive towards building a better Singapore. It is a word with deep roots in our history that also connects with our National Anthem – a familiar touch point that is close to every Singaporean’s heart.

The Singapore Spirit, highlights our unity as one people. It symbolises the competence and confidence that drive us to reach beyond our boundaries and to constantly seek new heights to scale. It also represents a unity built upon mutual trust as well as our can-do attitude and determination to take challenges in our stride.

Taken together, Majulah! The Singapore Spirit is a rally cry that calls on all Singaporeans to move forward together to bring Singapore to greater heights, to excel in our diverse fields of work and play and to realise our fullest potential.

Through this theme, Singaporeans are encouraged to pause to reflect and discover what the Singapore Spirit means to them. In sharing and passing on the Singapore Spirit to our children, and our grandchildren, we seek to strengthen our roots and at the same time inspire future generations to build a better home, a better Singapore.

PassportChop’s Reflections of the Singapore Spirit

For us at PassportChop.com, despite all the fun from travelling around the world, what keeps us rooted to Singapore and being proud as Singaporeans is the competence, quiet pride and discipline of Singaporeans that makes sure that things go right.  To us, the Singapore Spirit is about our ability to constantly reinvent ourselves, to seize each opportunity that comes our way and to excel.  It is the spirit to dare.

Thus when we were asked to share on places around Singapore that symbolizes the Singapore Spirit, it is no surprise that we had chosen 3 architectural structures that had become a permanent feature of the Singapore Skyline.

Marina Bay Floating Platform

The Float@Marina Bay (also known as the Marina Bay Floating Platform) is the world’s largest floating stage. It is located on the waters of the Marina Reservoir, in Marina Bay, Singapore.

The floating stadium had served as a venue for events on the waters of Marina Bay e.g. sports, concerts, exhibitions, and the arts and cultural performances and of course the National Day Parade.  It is also part of the Marina Bay Street Circuit for the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix and served as the venue for the inaugural 2010 Summer Youth Olympics opening and closing ceremonies.

In 2004, the National Stadium was scheduled to be demolished and replaced by the new Kallang Sports Hub – this meant the National Day Parade 2007 rganisers will have to find a new venue for the Parade.  The Singapore Spirit of daring to experiment and seizing opportunities was demonstrated with the idea to setup a platform to view the Parade with the Singapore Skyline as the backdrop and quickly followed through with the construction of the stage in 13 months (just in time for the 2007 Parade).

Photo credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/25802865@N08/

Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay

Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay is the centre for performing arts for the island nation of Singapore – it contains a Concert Hall which seats about 1,600 and a Theatre with a capacity of about 2,000 for the performing arts.

Despite drawing initial criticisms on the design of the Esplanade – some likened it to two copulating aardvarks! – the developers pushed through and built world-class performing spaces, coupled with a wide range of professional support services and facilities for the Esplanade.

In the relatively short time that The Esplanade has been open, it has played host to a wealth of big name acts and performances, including the Queen Musical We Will Rock You, Avenue Q and the regular Mosaic Music Festival. It has also proudly championed locally-based acts with performances by various groups, including The Great Spy Experiment, West Grand Boulevard and The Disclaimers etc. – thus adequately demonstrating the Singapore Spirit of daring to dream and experiment.

Photo credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/toyosakihiroki/

Marina Bay Sands

The Marina Bay Sands resort features a 2,561-room hotel, a 1,300,000 square foot convention-exhibition centre, the 800,000 square foot The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands mall, an iconic ArtScience museum, two large theatres, seven “celebrity chef” restaurants, two floating Crystal Pavilions, an ice skating rink, and the world’s largest atrium casino with 500 tables and 1,600 slot machines. The complex is topped by a 340m-long SkyPark with a capacity of 3,900 people and a 150m infinity swimming pool, set on top of the world’s largest public cantilevered platform, which overhangs the north tower by 67m.

This is one of the best examples where the Singapore Spirit of the ability to constantly reinvent ourselves, to seize each opportunity that comes our way and to excel is clearly demonstrated – the development of the Marina South area from an empty plot of land to one of the most iconic buildings in Singapore which served as an entertainment hub with large-scale theater productions e.g. The Lion King and an exhibition venue for famous art masterpieces around the world e.g. the Salvador Dali travelling exhibition.

Photo credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/edwin11/

Now that you have read our interpretation of the Singapore Spirit, tell us what’s yours and share them at the National Day Parade (NDP) 2011 website – www.ndp.org.sg and NDP 2011 Facebook page – www.facebook.com/ndpeep

PassportChop.com is a blogger for the Singapore National Day Parade 2011 social media campaign.