1. The National Day Parade (NDP) may have just passed, but plans are already underway for Singapore’s 50th birthday. Singer-songwriter Dick Lee has recently been appointed as the creative director of NDP 2015, and will also be composing the theme song for next year’s celebrations. Lee will be collaborating with film-maker Boo Jun-Feng and music director Sydney Tan in hopes of creating a song that rivals past hits. Here’s hoping it’s nothing at all like last year’s debacle.
2. Art enthusiasts will be pleased to know that the National Gallery Singapore—an upcoming art gallery built on the site of the former Supreme Court and City Hall—is in its last stages of construction. Paris-based firm Studio Milou Architecture has spearheaded the gallery’s design, with a gold panelled roof and tree-like structures amongst its numerous architectural features. Scheduled to open in November this year, you can expect to see more than 10 000 artworks from Singapore’s National Collection.
3. After disappointing performances by both teams at this year’s World Cup (though one significantly worse than the other), Japan and Brazil will face off in a friendly match hosted by Singapore on October 14. The pressure’s still on though, as recently hired coach Javier Aguirre (who has an estimated salary of $2.5m) has to prove he’s worth the hefty paycheck. As for Brazil, their world-cup defeat and the fact that they’ve beaten Japan in 10 previous meets, means they’re not keen to lose this one either. Fortunately for us Singaporeans, there’s little at stake except spectating pleasure.
4. In more serious news, a cable car became dislodged and fell at the intra-island cableway construction site in Sentosa. The incident resulted in another cabin being stalled for around an hour, with an engineer trapped inside. He was subsequently rescued and moved safely to Imbiah Station.
5. To end on a (somewhat) lighter note, Penang police are in search of 18 people who participated in nude events in Malaysia, including skinny-dipping and body painting. Lo and behold, four of these participants reside in our sunny island. Singapore resident Albert Yam Kam Hoong is one of them and has filmed himself in places such as Goldkist Resorts, Changi and MacRitchie Reservoir. We shudder to imagine what his Instagram profile looks like.
