Yeoh Siew Hoon was at the Singapore National Day Parade where she watched a country in transition.

I have always watched it from afar and I have always wondered what the fuss was all about.
Now I know.

On August 9, I had the privilege of sitting at the Grandstand at the Singapore Outdoor Stadium to watch the National Day Parade Celebrations.

Now, in case you are wondering what the big deal is, this is an event that thousands of Singaporeans queue up to get tickets for – in fact, there is a balloting system, as precious as the tickets are. It's an event that takes 12 months to plan – as I write this, they have already started planning for next year's celebrations. It's a celebration that has at least five rehearsals beforehand – and when I say rehearsals, I mean it's like the real thing. Helicopters fly past with the Singapore flag; the Red Lions, Singapore's answer to the Red Arrows, dart across the sky in formation; fireworks go off. Living as I do across the stadium, I have been watching the rehearsals for at least the past five years.

So when I was offered a ticket this year, I said yes, faster than you could say, Lion City.

You see, this year is an extra special year for Singapore.

On August 12, a new Prime Minister will be sworn in – Lee Hsien Loong, son of the founder of Singapore, Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, will take over the reins from Goh Chok Tong, who has been warming the seat for the past 14 years.

This month too, sex will finally arrive in the city. After a five-year ban, Singaporeans will finally get to experience the sexual angst that is the hit television series, Sex and The City.

This is all part of the loosening up of the Lion City. After all, at 39 years old, one should be allowed to party without having to ask one's parents' permission all the time.

As an indication of liberation, local artists are pushing the envelope – ever so gently though – to see how far they can go.
Beyond fun, the country is also in the midst of an intense soul-searching exercise to re-examine its relevance in the new world order. A mighty China is hollowing out its traditional industries and the small size, high cost model of Singapore has to find a new meaning in life.

In tourism terms, the country is also having to navel-gaze. Its product life cycle has matured. It's losing ground to fresher, more diverse competitors such as Thailand and Malaysia. When in the past Dubai looked to Singapore for inspiration, today, it is happening in reverse with Singapore committees traveling to the country that has transformed sand to gold dust to see if there are lessons to be learnt.

It too has to re-invent itself as a tourism destination that all travelers, business and leisure, aspire to visit.

So, at the National Day Parade, the message was clear – Singapore's future lies in its people. A small country such as Singapore, without natural resources, has no choice but to rely on its people to be smarter, quicker, gutsier, more creative and more entrepreneurial than anyone else.

And people power was out in full force. I had never seen so many thousands of people as organized and coordinated as they were on August 9.

This was organized fun on a massive scale. This, to me, is what Singapore does best.

Sixty thousand people were each given a goodie bag, In the bag was every conceivable item you could possibly need for a day out – biscuits, drinks, musical instruments, a Nokia torch-phone, flag, plastic bag (for the rubbish) …

From start at 4.30pm to finish at 8.15pm, the programme ran like clockwork. Skydivers, abseilers, martial arts, dances, songs, gymnasts … the whole stadium was a sea of red where the audience was, and a riot of colours in the field.

There seemed to be no end to the oohs and aahs from the audience as each act opened … by the time the fireworks lit up the sky, the stadium was in full roar.

I felt I was enclosed in this enormous wall of sound as Singaporeans sang their hearts out to patriotic songs.

Rounding off the celebrations, in the post-parade segment, was the Singapore Tourism Board which aired the music video of the theme song of its new brand, "Uniquely Singapore".

Local singer Wendi Koh performed the song "Uniquely You" against the video which showed images of her and her father, through the years, and her father penning the song for his "unique" daughter.

The song was actually penned by Ken Low, STB's director for brand management, who is a musical producer in his other life.
In case you are wondering what all this has to do with tourism, welcome to the new Singapore – a Singapore which wants to wear its heart on its sleeve and build an emotional bond with travelers seeking to enrich themselves in a renaissance kind of place.

Branding, after all, is about building an emotional connection with customers – much like nation building really, which is about forging an emotional connection with citizens.

The challenge is to make the connection deep and lasting – beyond ad campaigns, music videos, skydiving and parades.


The SHY Report
A regular column on news, trends and issues in the hospitality industry by one of Asia's most respected travel editors and commentators, Yeoh Siew Hoon.

Siew Hoon, who has covered the tourism industry in Asia/Pacific for the past 20 years, runs SHY Ventures Pte Ltd. Her company's mission is "Content, Communication, Connection". She is a writer, speaker, facilitator, trainer and events producer. She is also an author, having published "Around Asia In 1 Hr: Tales of Condoms, Chillies & Curries". Her motto is ‘free to do, and be'.

Contacts: Tel: 65-63424934, Mobile: 65-96801460