About 5,000 people participated in the National Day Parade held at the Marina Bay Floating Platform, Singapore on August 9 to celebrate the country’s 49th birthday.

The ceremony was attended by former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, President Tony Tan Keng Yam and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, together with many cabinet members, members of parliaments and over 27,000 spectators.

The highlight of this year's parade, themed “Our People, Our Home”, was the Red Lions parachute team of nine parachutists, who plunged from 10,000 feet to land on the floating platform.

The parade also featured performances of Singapore 's army, navy, air force and police force and was wrapped up by a show party which turned the whole platform into a colourful stage.

Not everyone got the chance to celebrate the country’s 49th birthday at the Marina Bay Floating Platform. However, all around the island, Singaporeans young and old celebrated the momentous occasion in variety of different ways.

Ahead of the National Day, on August 8, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong delivered a National Day Message. In his message, the PM outlined some priorities for the country, including giving Singaporeans greater peace of mind in their retirement years and helping everyone achieve their potential, regardless of their family background or circumstances.

PM Lee announced in his message that growth projection for 2014 will be between 2.5 and 3.5 percent, narrower than the forecast by the Trade and Industry Ministry in February this year of between 2 and 4 percent.-VNA