The thrill of landing elusive NDP tickets after years of balloting

In person, the parade was even better than a Taylor Swift concert. Singing the iconic Home with thousands of other Singaporeans is truly where the heart is.

- Carmen Lee

I’ve been an equity analyst for over 35 years, focusing on Singapore-listed companies -analysing them, making investment decisions and, occasionally, trying to predict the unpredictable. Many of my calls have turned out to be spot on.

Unfortunately, that track record does not extend to securing tickets to Singapore’s most coveted event — the National Day Parade (NDP).

Despite years of trying, my success rate was zero. This was despite the fact that every year, I mobilised an army of friends and family to enter the ballot on my behalf. The strategy was simple probability: the more applications, the better the odds.

But when the financial markets remained kinder to me than the ballot gods, I turned to less analytical methods — ones not backed by research or sound analysis — to boost my chances.

I bought NDP-themed merchandise, hoping this would bring me luck. My wardrobe of red T-shirts grew steadily, but the tickets? Still nowhere in sight. Turns out, red is just not my lucky colour.

But I didn’t give up. Deep down inside, I held on to hope. Just like the popular National Day song says, I believed We Will Get There.

AT LAST, I STRIKE IT LUCKY

On June 20, my phone buzzed just as I was handing over a $10 bill to the friendly uncle who runs the convenience store in my neighbourhood. It was an SMS from gov.sg and I half expected it to be about the SG60 vouchers scheme. To my surprise, it was something far more exciting.