He studied architecture to chase his childhood dream of designing NDP stage

His models have gone from being made out of tissue paper boxes to being 3D-printed

- Ng Keng Gene

Much like how people have the names of their favourite sports idols, movie stars or music artistes at their fingertips, Mr Kenneth Chiang can rattle off the names of National Day Parade (NDP) show segment creative directors by the year.

As he does so, the architectural assistant offers short and at times unprompted commentaries on their shows, underscoring his fixation with Singapore's biggest annual production.

It is unsurprising, then, that Mr Chiang, who has a 3D-printed scale model of the Padang complete with NDP bleachers and self-designed performance stage in his bedroom, dreams of one day being an NDP creative director.

Since 2009, the self-professed NDP die-hard fan has watched the parade live on site at least once every year—including National Education shows and previews—missing just two editions during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

Mr Chiang, 30, has already caught NDP 2025 at the Padang thrice, thanks to tickets from friends.

He has never been successful in the NDP ticket ballot, despite taking part every year.

He said that since the early 2000s, when NDP creative directors were selected from the local arts scene, the storytelling of NDP shows has been much stronger, with a coherent narrative across the acts of each year's show segment.

To say Singapore's annual birthday bash has had an impact on Mr Chiang's life is an understatement.