The cost of organising the annual National Day Parade which was in the 5 – 6 million range in the early 2000s, ballooned to almost 8 times more after 2004. The cost doubled in 2005, and steadily increased in the subsequent years before touching the $40 million range since 2015.
| Year | Venue | Approximate Cost |
| NDP 2002 | National Stadium | $5.56 million |
| NDP 2003 | National Stadium | $6.25 million |
| NDP 2004 | National Stadium | $5.43 million |
| NDP 2005 | Padang | $10.3 million |
| NDP 2006 | National Stadium | $7 million |
| NDP 2007 | Marina Bay Floating Platform | $13.75 million |
| NDP 2008 | Marina Bay Floating Platform | $14.2 million |
| NDP 2009 | Marina Bay Floating Platform | $15.4 million |
| NDP 2010 | Padang | $20.6 million |
| NDP 2011 | Marina Bay Floating Platform | $17.7 million |
| NDP 2015 | Padang | $40.5 million |
| NDP 2016 | National Stadium @ Sports Hub | $39.4 million |
Source: MINDEF
Members of the Workers’ Party questioned the Minister of Defence about the rising costs of National Day Parades on two occasions. Sylvia Lim in particular asked in 2016Â if the Government expects to pay similar amounts for future years.
The Defence Minister, Ng Eng Hen, replied her and acknowledged that the costs of organising the National Day Parades are high.
“I think that they (NDP Executive Committee) have resigned themselves to the fact that comparisons will be inevitable,” he said.
Adding: “However, I believe that ultimately the NDP is a show with Singaporeans, for Singaporeans, and by Singaporeans. The committee will do their best to live up to expectations, but I ask that Singaporeans support the EXCO so that they can put up a really good NDP this year for all of us to celebrate together.”
Singapore celebrated its first National Day as an independent nation in 1966, one year after Singapore’s separation from Malaysia on 9 August 1965. So, what happened in the period before the costs of organising the National Day Parade increased by 700 per cent since the previous years?