Crowds turn up for Red Lions, mobile column at National Day heartland celebrations

National Day celebrations spilled into the heartland on Aug 10, where more than 170,000 residents in five districts were treated to games, activities, performances and fireworks displays.

- Shermaine Ang and Claudia Tan

This year, the mobile column made pit stops in the heartland for the first time, allowing the public to get up close with vehicles from the Singapore Armed Forces and the Home Team.

The vehicles stopped for 1½ hours at five places across the island before they arrived at the heartland celebrations.

Snaking queues of people braved the afternoon heat to catch the display, many with children in tow. Others, deterred by the queue, watched from outside the fence.

One of the pit stops was at CHIJ Primary (Toa Payoh) and CHIJ Secondary School, where the mobile column arrived at about 2.20pm.

Mr Ryan Ng, 40, arrived with his family at about 1.30pm, driving there from their home in Bukit Batok.

He told The Straits Times that he had taken his two older children, aged seven and four, to the National Day Parade (NDP) at the Padang the day before, and they had wanted to see more of the mobile column.

At the Tampines Concourse Bus Interchange, the first in line to see the mobile column were five-year-old Leia Sim and her mother Sarah Ho, who waited for over an hour to catch the display.

"So nice, so nice," Ms Ho beamed as she exited the bus interchange, holding her daughter's hand.

The civil servant said her family had watched the mobile column by the roadside in 2020, but the vehicles did not stop for them to get a closer look.

"Her papa used to drive a tank as a reservist," added Ms Ho, 35. "It is a rare opportunity getting to see the tanks."

Insurance manager Clement Lim, 41, said he was unable to secure tickets to the NDP this year.

"A lot of people want to be involved in the NDP, but there is only so much space available, so I am glad we can come to see this," said Mr Lim, who was with his wife, daughter and his brother-in-law's family.