I am Singaporean. And, I am kiasu. Very kiasu. Singapore Day 2008 @ Sidney Myer Music Bowl took place at 10.30am. I was prepared to be at the venue by 10am. My non-Singaporean friend chided me for being so 3k (kiasu, kiasi, kiabo). Thankfully, I decided to pop down in the afternoon instead. My sister went there in the morning, and she told me that an extremely long queue had formed in front of the venue, and she estimated it would be about a 2-hour wait at least just to get inside.
The turnout was amazing - 11,000 people, double the amount of Singaporeans who took part in SG Day in New York last year.
Eating plays a big role in SG Day 2008. Singaporean food such as Roti Prata, Nasi Lemak, Hokkien Mee, Mee Soto, Laksa, Chendol and Bak Chor Mee, Char Kuay Teow, Chicken Rice, BBQ Wings and Satay was divided into 4 different sections named after prominent eating places back home: Newton Circus, Clarke Quay, Rocester Park and Dempsey Hill. Here, you see a signpost named 'Buona Vista'. It has many memories for me, my secondary school used to be located near there. Sadly, it has since closed down (my school, of course) =(
For the record, the food was all free. But, I gave up queuing because of the long-snaking queue. And, also, partly because after queuing for so long in the hot sun, I was disappointed only to receive a small serving of curry chicken not enough to fill even the stomach of a 2-year old.
The hawkers were specially flown in for the event, and the food cooked and served in a hawker-centre style - on the spot.
The sitcom staged by Phua Chu Kang and family had the Singaporean audience roaring with laughter. Halfway through the play, it became extremely obvious that they were trying to pull Singaporeans (and talent) back to their homeland because the actors and actresses were reiterating the positive changes that Singapore has since introduced, such as citizens being able to protest at the Speaker's Corner now.
Tay Ping Hui sang two sings, one in English and the other in Chinese. When he went down the stage, a gaggle of teenage girls came scrambling to take photos with him, forming a snaking long queue in the stadium.
I was quite amazed at the amount of audience excitement that Hady Mirza induced, especially among the Malays. A bunch of Malay girls and guys kept screaming 'Hady! Hadddddyyyyy! Look here, look hereee!!!' at a eardrum-shattering 10 decibels. However, Hady Mirza was very soon upstaged by Phua Chu Kang and family. Within a matter of a few moments after Gurmit Singh descended the stage, a huge crowd had formed around him, everyone fighting to take a photo with them. The first five rows in the audience suddenly disappeared when Hady Mirza was hardly halfway into his first song. Poor Hady Mirza.
