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National Stadium
30 June 2024
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📷: Spectators at the 1983 SEA Games football match (Credits to: NAS)
Opened in 1973, the former National Stadium served as the Field of Dreams for many Singaporeans for over thirty years. It was #SingaporesFirst Olympic-standard stadium, and had served as the primary venue for major sporting events. We had hosted three Southeast Asian (SEA) Games there in 1973, 1983 and 1993, and the stadium had witnessed the golden age of Singapore football from 1977 to 1994, when Singapore won the Malaysia Cup three times. The euphoric Kallang Roar and communal Kallang Wave – our spirited displays of pride for our sportsmen – was also birthed from this site.
Beyond spurring Singaporeans' interest in sports and putting Singapore on the forefront of international sports, the National Stadium was also our nation’s centrepiece for entertainment, lifestyle and national events. Concerts of popular singers like Michael Jackson and Mariah Carey have been held at the stadium, attracting flocks of international music fans to the arena in Kallang. The beloved National Stadium had also been the venue of 18 National Day Parades held between 1976 and 2006.
As its facilities aged and Singapore’s sporting ambitions and demands grew, the idea to redevelop the former National Stadium into its present-day Singapore Sports Hub was mooted. The former National Stadium was officially closed #OnThisDay on 30 Jun 2007, and demolition begun on 29 September 2010.
Standing in place today is the $1.33 billion Singapore Sports Hub, which boosts a 55,000-seating capacity and features the world’s largest free-spanning dome and a retractable roof. Besides being Singapore’s largest all-weather sports and events venue, it is a sports and lifestyle precinct, housing a unique cluster of world-class facilities comprising the National Stadium, Singapore Indoor Stadium, the OCBC Arena and the OCBC Aquatic Centre, amongst others.
Today, one can still commemorate and relive memories of the former National Stadium – in the form of wooden seating planks from the former stadium, which have been repurposed into well-designed benches all across Singapore. If you look carefully, you might find them at various public spaces such as the Singapore River, Marina Bay, Esplanade, Gardens by the Bay and the URA Centre. There are 14 of such unique benches surrounding the current Singapore Sports Hub, which can be found along The Kallang Story: A Sports, Arts and Heritage Trail walking trail. Indeed, the spirit and legacy of the former National Stadium continues to live on with expanded reach and functionality.
Share with us your favourite National Stadium memory in the comments below!
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