Kenneth Chiang, a 30-year-old architectural assistant, has transformed his childhood fascination with Singapore's National Day Parade (NDP) into a lifelong pursuit of becoming the event's creative director. Since 2009, this self-proclaimed "NDP diehard fan" has attended the parade live on-site at least once every year, including National Education shows and previews, missing only the 2020 and 2021 editions during the COVID-19 pandemic. His dedication runs so deep that he can effortlessly recite the names of NDP show segment creative directors by year, offering detailed commentary on their performances.
Chiang's bedroom showcases his passion with a 3D-printed scale model of the Padang, complete with NDP bleachers and his own self-designed performance stage. Despite participating in the NDP ticket ballot every year, he has never been successful in securing tickets through the lottery system. Instead, he relies on friends who know of his fascination to share their tickets. For NDP 2025 at the Padang, he has already attended the event three times thanks to these generous friends.
A pivotal moment in 2011 changed the trajectory of Chiang's life and career aspirations. While watching an NDP National Education show at the now-demolished Marina Bay floating platform in July, the then-15-year-old Chiang spotted veteran stage designer Randy Chan in the stands. Encouraged by his friends, Chiang approached Chan and expressed his admiration, saying "I love your work. I think what you do is damn cool." Chan, who serves as principal of architectural practice Zarch Collaboratives, was so impressed by the young man's enthusiasm that he gave Chiang his business card with an autograph and invited him to visit his office.
During the office visit at Zarch's former Selegie location, Chan showed Chiang a model of the NDP 2011 stage he had designed, featuring multiple smaller cubic spaces that could hold performers. "It was the coolest thing ever," Chiang recalled. Chan's advice proved life-changing: "If you want to do the NDP stage, you need to study architecture." This encounter directly influenced Chiang's decision to pursue architecture when he enrolled at Singapore Polytechnic in 2012.
Chiang's passion for stage design began much earlier than his meeting with Chan. His first model was created in 2006 when he was a Primary 5 student, inspired by the rising platforms from the NDP 2005 stage where singer Taufik Batisah and actress-singer Rui En performed "Reach Out For The Skies" during the finale. "As a young kid watching, I wondered, 'How on earth did they make that happen?' so I spent months at home experimenting," he explained. He eventually achieved success using a cake tin and toilet paper cardboard roll, with McDonald's Happy Meal figurines serving as props.
The launch of YouTube around that time allowed Chiang to rewatch NDP 2005 daily after school, further cultivating his love for the spectacle. By the time he entered polytechnic, he had created models of approximately 10 stages, including both replicas of NDP and other performance stages, as well as his own original designs. His nighttime routine involved hiding in a dark room and projecting images onto these fake stages with figurines as props, playing with them for hours and even bringing models to school to show classmates.
Chiang's mother, Judy, 65, often found him working on crafts instead of studying during his childhood. "Paper, scissors and color pencils – those were his childhood toys," she observed. His dedication to this unusual hobby was evident even then, as he spent countless hours perfecting his miniature stage creations and experimenting with lighting effects.
Nearly two decades after creating his first stage model, Chiang now works at a local architectural firm while accumulating the requirements to become a registered architect in Singapore. His recent achievements suggest his dream of designing an NDP stage may not be far-fetched. In the past year, he has topped two ideas competitions organized by authorities – one for Tanjong Pagar Railway Station and another for Jurong Bird Park and Jurong Hill – demonstrating his legitimate design capabilities.
Randy Chan, now 55, vividly remembers their chance encounter at Marina Bay, describing it as "magical" despite lasting no more than 10 minutes. "My family were seated nearby and they were surprised I had a fan," Chan said, adding that he told Chiang to "keep up the dream and to enjoy chasing it." Chan, who has designed five NDP stages since 2004, expressed pride in seeing Chiang grow from the enthusiastic boy who approached him in 2011 into an accomplished designer.
Chiang's NDP obsession extends beyond stage design into every aspect of the annual celebration. During car rides, he listens to NDP soundtracks from previous years, and he can instantly identify which year various NDP merchandise items – such as clappers or torchlights – originated from. His collection of NDP paraphernalia includes items dating back to 1998, showcasing the depth of his long-term commitment to the event.
For Chiang, the NDP represents a perfect intersection of his interests: "The NDP marries a few of my interests – a love for Singapore, theatre and live shows." While his ultimate goal remains directing an NDP show, he views stage design as a more immediately attainable stepping stone. "The ultimate goal is to direct an NDP show, but stage design is something more relatable to me at the moment – from there, maybe I can make the step up," he explained.
Chiang believes that exceptional NDP stages must serve the specific performance needs of each year, whether requiring large screens or multiple levels. However, he emphasizes that "what makes a good stage great is if it can offer something more than what the audience expects from your typical NDP stage." As he continues building his architectural credentials and awaiting his opportunity to work on an actual NDP production, Chiang remains committed to his craft, recently completing a detailed 3D-printed scale model of the Padang in 2025 – his second such model, representing significant advancement from his earlier tissue paper box version created during primary school.
