NDP 2026: How a Spidercam will bring the action closer to those at home
The Spidercam brings “a whole new angle to the show that I think you don’t get in other editions of NDP”, says camera director Roger Ng.
The Spidercam filming during National Day Parade 2026 preview at the National Stadium on Aug 1, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Ili Mansor)
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SINGAPORE: People watching this year’s National Day Parade (NDP) at home instead of the National Stadium will get a front-row seat to the celebrations thanks to a suite of cameras that bring the spectacle to screens.
These cameras, including a Spidercam, will capture soaring aerial shots and close-up views of performers and spectators.
Used during the 2026 World Cup, the Spidercam provided views of the football pitch that traditional cameras could not, tracking the action from cinematic angles.
This year’s NDP will be held at the National Stadium for the first time since 2016.
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While some elements of the parade will be missing, this year’s show will include the largest civilian participation in over a decade and the biggest special effects presentation to date.
Flying over the heads of spectators, the Spidercam will follow the performances and showcase the scale of the show as it shifts across the stage.
One of the highlights viewers at home can look forward to is the iconic Kallang Wave. Catching the flow of the wave is something this year’s camera director Roger Ng is especially excited about.
“We can actually go quite low to catch the wave as it goes and match that speed. And you see the wave just rippling through. I think that’s really beautiful and something that people can see on TV,” said Mr Ng.
Mr Ng and his team are also excited about a shot that begins with a close-up of parade commander Caleb Chia and parade Regimental Sergeant Major Low Kay Kee before pulling back to reveal the full scale of the parade behind them.
Another highlight will see singer Jasmine Sokko perform one of the three NDP songs, You’ll Be Okay, while descending from a cube suspended from the ceiling of the National Stadium.
The Spidercam was first used during NDP 2016, the last time the parade was held at the National Stadium.
This year’s system comes with upgraded cameras as well as technology that enables smoother movements and sharper images.
“We have tried to do this at the Padang and the floating platform, but it didn’t succeed,” he said.
“If you got cables running across, then the Red Lions cannot land,” said Mr Ng, who was also the camera director in 2016.
Mr Ng explained that while the Spidercam could move freely to all four points of the stadium during the World Cup, the one used at the National Stadium will only travel along the X and Y axes.
It will not move along the Z axis to avoid interfering with the aerial cuboid suspended from the stadium roof.
Although this is only the second time the Spidercam is being used at the National Day Parade, Mr Ng said the team is confident in the technology.
“It gives a whole new angle to the show that I think you don’t get in other editions of NDP, because of the different show that you can produce at the stadium in itself.”
PRECISION
Behind every sweeping shot is months of planning. Coordinating the cameras for a show featuring 36 artistes and more than 2,600 performers is no easy feat.
“We have been planning this for six months, just camera-wise. Conceptualisation of the show was another four months before that.
“So I’ve seen this show evolve in many different forms to what it is right now. I think understanding how it got here is as important as doing it in itself,” Mr Ng said.
He explained that positioning the Spidercam on the north side of the stadium would help viewers “orientate themselves to the entirety of the stadium and the entirety of the show”.
With performers spread across different parts of the venue, the Spidercam helps guide viewers from one performance space to the next, transitioning from expansive aerial views to close-ups on the ground.
“For the purpose of our screens here, and for the purpose of the people in the audience, you do need to direct their attention to the geographical locality of the performance.”
That precision becomes even more critical when the performance culminates in a laser show.
“Lasers are not friendly to cameras. If you shine your laser straight into the camera, the camera will fry,” Mr Ng said.
The Spidercam has been programmed to fly at the exact height and position needed to capture the laser show in its full glory, without entering the laser airspace.
When asked about potential safety concerns, Mr Ng described the Spidercam system as “a very fail-safe system” with numerous safety measures.
“The cables, they are not nylon cables … These are Kevlar (cables) that can transmit the telemetry and video signal back to control.
“If a cable were to snap for whatever reason, the other three cables can actually support the camera, and the whole system will go into lockdown.
“So it doesn’t run free. If power is lost to the winches, it will lock down as well. There’s a physical lock to it.”
The system also has software-defined safety boundaries to ensure the Spidercam does not collide with props or performers on the ground.
“I think that’s pretty important because it is flying over audiences. You don’t want it to accidentally hit a camera, or you don’t want it to hit an audience (member) on the ground, so we draw a red boundary, and no matter how you push it down, it will not go down.”
FLEXIBILITY
Despite its sophisticated technology, the Spidercam is still largely operated manually.
“That gives us the flexibility to adapt to changes on the ground if that happens,” he said.
“So the camera operation as a whole is largely a semi-manual affair.
“I say if you want it automated, it could. But I think we appreciate the flexibility of adapting to changes on the ground because at the end of the day it is a live show.”
For all its attention-grabbing aerial shots, the Spidercam is only one piece of a much larger production involving dozens of cameras working together to tell the NDP story.
“We have cameras on the tower itself that capture a very good close-up of Asnida (Daud) and Iman (Fandi) when they are singing on top of the tower.
“That’s something that the Spidercam would not be able to capture because the Spidercam’s intent is to bring out the grandeur and the beauty of the stadium itself.
“It is a toy at the end of the day, but it doesn’t work without the rest of the cameras and the rest of the team supporting the effort of camera production to bring the creative narrative of the show to screens for people to see.”
Source: CNA/cj(mi)
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