The former Singapore National Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in

Kallang Kallang ( ) is a Planning Areas of Singapore, planning area and New towns of Singapore, residential zone located in the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the l ...

, which opened in July 1973 and closed on 30 June 2007. The stadium was demolished from 2010 to 2011 for the development of the

Singapore Sports Hub The Singapore Sports Hub (; Malay: Hab Sukan Singapura; Tamil: சிங்கப்பூர் விளையாட்டு மையம்) is a sports and recreation district in Kallang, Singapore. The Sports Hub is a 35-hectare public- ...

, which houses its

successor Successor may refer to: * An entity that comes after another (see Succession (disambiguation)) Film and TV * ''The Successor'' (1996 film), a film including Laura Girling * The Successor (2023 film), a French drama film * ''The Successor'' ( ...

. During its closure from 2007 to 2014, the National Day Parade (NDP) and sports events were held at the Marina Bay Floating Platform and

Jalan Besar Stadium Jalan Besar Stadium, officially the Jalan Besar ActiveSG Stadium, is a football stadium located in Kallang, Singapore. The stadium is part of the Jalan Besar Sports and Recreation Centre, a community sports facility that includes the stadium as ...

. The stadium was prominently the home of

Singapore FA Singapore FA was a representative team of the Football Association of Singapore in competitions run by the Football Association of Malaysia, separate from the Singapore national football team, Singapore national team. Despite dissolving in 19 ...

, a club side, and the Singapore national team. It also hosted the

Singapore Cup The Singapore Cup is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic Singaporean football. Established in 1998, it is the foremost prestigious cup competition in the country. It is open to clubs in the Singapore Premier League. Since ...

finals annually, the first in 1996, and the second leg of the

2004 AFF Championship The 2004 AFF Championship (officially known as the 2004 Tiger Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 5th edition of the AFF Championship, the football championship of nations affiliated to the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF), and the last time und ...

finals. In addition to association football matches, the stadium hosted the

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

and

1993 Southeast Asian Games The 1993 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 17th Southeast Asian Games, were a multi-sport event held in Singapore from 12 to 20 June 1993 with 29 sports featured in this edition. The games were opened by Wee Kim Wee, the President ...

, the

Singapore Armed Forces The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A component of the Ministry of Defence (Singapore), Ministry of D ...

day parades and the opening ceremony of the biennial Singapore Youth Festival, as well as numerous music and cultural events. It was the primary venue for the NDP.

History

Conceptualisation

Shortly after the Second World War, as Singapore moved towards self-government and independence, the call for a national stadium began.

Planning

In June 1963, the Singapore government announced plans to build a national stadium in Kallang Park, and a 19-member committee was formed to oversee planning and fund-raising for the project. Comprising two outdoor stadiums, a covered stadium, and a swimming complex, and intended to be large enough to host the South East Asia Peninsular Games, the stadium was expected to cost . As part of the planning process, the Public Works Department's chief architect, Tan Beng Kiat, studied several stadiums overseas. In March 1966, then-Minister for Law and National Development E.W Barker announced that the stadium's development was of top priority in the government's infrastructure development plan, and that the main stadium would be developed first. Expected to cost between and , the main stadium was to have a capacity of 50,000. A state-owned lottery company,

Singapore Pools Singapore Pools (Private) Limited is a state-owned lottery subsidiary company in Singapore. As a wholly owned subsidiary of the Tote Board, it is the only operator that is legally allowed to run lotteries in Singapore. History Singapore Pools ...

, was set up in 1968 to raise funds for the stadium. Proceeds from the Singapore Sweep and TOTO were used to pay a substantial part of the construction bill. Between 1968 and 1976, the company contributed S$14.5 million towards the project. Singapore Pools also helped the stadium repay a government loan of $7.8 million meant as start-up money for a stadium management corporation. Following the completion of the National Stadium, Singapore Pools remained a major sponsor of the stadium, as well as the National Day Parade.

Construction

Construction of the stadium began in December 1966, and the groundbreaking ceremony was officiated by then-Minister of Social Affairs

Othman Wok Othman bin Wok (8 October 1924 – 17 April 2017), often known as Othman Wok, was a Singaporean statesman who served as Minister of Social Affairs between 1963 and 1977. After retiring from politics, he was Singapore's Ambassador to Indonesia ...

. The foundations were completed by February 1970, and the stadium's foundation stone was laid on 23 February. By the end of 1970, the stadium was three-quarters completed and was starting to take its definitive shape. Thirty-six steps, each wide, formed an impressive entrance; and a cauldron was built within the stadium to carry a flame that would burn at special events and at the opening of the stadium. By the end of June 1973 when the stadium was completed, 300,000 bags of cement, 3,000,000 bricks and 4,500 tons of steel and timber had been used. The new stadium was opened to the public for the first time on 19 July 1973.

Redevelopment

Plans were made to demolish the stadium and build a multipurpose,

in its place. Demolition works began in the second half of 2007, and the new Sports Hub was eventually completed in 2014. Three finalist consortia submitted redevelopment plans. The 2007

ASEAN Football Championship The ASEAN Championship (formerly known as the AFF Championship or AFF Cup), currently known as the ASEAN Hyundai Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the biennial football tournament organized by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) for men's natio ...

was the last major event held at the National Stadium before its redevelopment.

Closure

On 30 June 2007, a closing ceremony titled ''Field of Dreams – A Tribute to the National Stadium'' was held at the stadium."A tribute to the Old Lady of Kallang", ''

The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' (also known informally by its abbreviation ''ST'') is a Singaporean daily English-language newspaper owned by the SPH Media Trust. Established on 15 July 1845, it is the most-widely circulated newspaper in the country and ...

'', 31 May 2007 45,000 people attended the event, together with

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

S R Nathan, members of the Cabinet and Singapore athletes, past and present.Marc Lim, "Sun sets on the Grand Old Lady", ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'', 1 July 2007 Before the ceremony, a football match featuring ex-internationals from Singapore and Malaysia like

Quah Kim Song Quah Kim Song (, born February 1952) is a former Singapore national football team, Singapore international association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Quah's swift agility earned him the nicknames ...

, Terry Pathmanathan, Samat Allapitchay, V. Sundramoorthy, David Lee, Dollah Kassim,

Soh Chin Aun Datuk Wira Soh Chin Ann (or Soh Chin Aun due to misspelling by Malaysian media; ; born 28 July 1950) is a Malaysian former footballer who played as a defender. He was affectionately known as ''Tauke'' or '' Towkay'' (''Boss'') by his teamma ...

, Santokh Singh, Chow Siew Wai and K. Gunalan was played.Terrence Voon, "Old foes' nostalgic farewell to their field of dreams", ''

'', 1 July 2007 The match was followed by the highlight of the evening, an international friendly between

ASEAN The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its member states r ...

champions

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and the

Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior list of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the contin ...

bound Australian team, the Socceroos. The Australians won 3–0 with goals scored by

English Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

players

Mark Viduka Mark Antony Viduka ( ; born 9 October 1975) is an Australian former Association football, football player who played as a centre forward. Viduka captained the Australia men's national soccer team, Australia national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup ...

(50, 86 mins) and

Harry Kewell Harry Kewell (born 22 September 1978) is an Australian soccer coach, manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Yokohama F. Marinos in the J1 League. As a player, Kewell represented Leeds United F.C., Leeds United, Liverpool ...

(75 min).Leonard Lim, "Thanks for a great match, mate", ''

'', 1 July 2007 This was not the last football match to be played in the stadium as it was subsequently used for 11 football matches. The very last goal scored at the stadium was scored by Gholamreza Rezaei of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

in a 1–3 loss for the hosts against the Iranian national team in an Asian Cup qualifying match on 6 January 2010.

Demolition

On 29 September 2010: The former National Stadium started its demolition to make way for the construction of the Sports Hub. It was completely torn down in February 2011.

Post-closure

During the demolition of the former National Stadium, seating planks were salvaged and National Development Minister

Khaw Boon Wan Khaw Boon Wan ( zh, s=许文远, p=Xǔ Wényuǎn, poj=Khó͘ Bûn-oán; born 8 December 1952) is a Malaysian-born Singaporean former politician who served as Minister for Transport between 2015 and 2020, Minister for National Development betw ...

said that the salvaged planks could be recycled into bench as a way of commemorating the former National Stadium. In 2012, the

Urban Redevelopment Authority The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and a Statutory boards of the Singapore Government, statutory board under the Ministry of National Development (Singapore), Ministry of National De ...

(URA) launched a design competition to design benches using the salvaged planks. A total of 30 designs were selected where 93 benches are created and located at 23 public spaces in Singapore. Of the designs and locations, ten designs and 15 locations chosen by the public in a competition. Some of the locations picked by public are

Fort Canning Fort Canning Hill, or simply known as Fort Canning, is a prominent hill, about high, in the southeast portion of Singapore, within the Central Area that forms Singapore's central business district. The hill has a long history intertwined wi ...

, HortPark,

Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park is a major park in Singapore, located in the popular heartland of Bishan, Singapore, Bishan and Ang Mo Kio. Serving the residents of Bishan and Ang Mo Kio areas, the park sits entirely within Bishan Road and Ang Mo Kio Ave ...

and the

National Museum of Singapore The National Museum of Singapore is a public museum dedicated to Singaporean art, culture and history. Located within the country's Civic District at the Downtown Core area, it is the oldest museum in the country, with its history dating back to ...

. In 2017, URA launched a second design competition for the public to design benches using the remaining salvaged planks left after building the benches from the 2012 competition.

Facilities

The National Stadium had an eight-lane running track and two 400m eight-lane

tartan Tartan or plaid ( ) is a patterned cloth consisting of crossing horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours, forming repeating symmetrical patterns known as ''setts''. Originating in woven wool, tartan is most strongly associated wi ...

training tracks and football field in addition to other miscellaneous facilities such as table tennis tables, a weights room and an auditorium, housed underneath the spectator stands. While the facilities were often used for high-profile sporting events, they could also be used by members of the public and other local organizations for a nominal fee. For example, when not otherwise used, the running track could be used by joggers for S$0.50 per entry.Singapore Sports Council - National Stadium Facilities
. The headquarters of the

Singapore Sports Council Sport Singapore (SportSG) is a statutory board under the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth of the Government of Singapore. It is the lead agency tasked with developing a holistic sports culture for the nation. History Sport Singapore was ...

used to be located at 15 Stadium Road. National Stadium Singapore

New National Stadium

The new

National Stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football ...

was officially opened on 30 June 2014 on the site of the Former National Stadium.

Timeline

The stadium's 44-year history is as follows:"Stadium memories: 1973-2007", ''

'', 30 June 2007 *1966 **December: Work begins on the S$50 million complex. *1971 **4 June: Then-

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Benjamin Sheares Benjamin Henry Sheares (12 August 1907 – 12 May 1981) was a Singaporean physician and academic who served as the second president of Singapore between 1971 until his death in 1981. Of Eurasian Singaporeans, Eurasian descent, Sheares was b ...

visits stadium before completion. *1973 **17 June: First event at the stadium – an international

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

friendly between Singapore and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Australia wins 3–0. **24 June: First football match – Sultan's Gold Cup final between Singapore Malays and

Kelantan Kelantan (; Kelantan-Pattani Malay, Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate''; ) is a state in Malaysia. The capital, Kota Bharu, includes the royal seat of Kubang Kerian. The honorific, honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' ("The Blissful Abode"). ...

Malays. Singapore wins 4–1 in front of a 32,000-strong crowd. **21 July: Official opening by then Prime Minister

Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (born Harry Lee Kuan Yew; 16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean politician who ruled as the first Prime Minister of Singapore from 1959 to 1990. He is widely recognised ...

. **1–8 September: Hosts the 7th

Southeast Asian Peninsular Games The Southeast Asian Games, commonly known as SEA Games is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supe ...

. Singapore wins 45 golds, 50 silvers and 45 bronzes. Singapore football team reach semi-finals before losing 3–5 on penalties to

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

, after a 1–1 draw in extra-time. **17 September: Practice track and

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...

s are open to public. **24 October: Boxing great

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

fights in a five-round exhibition bout. *1976 **28 January: Former

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

first lady,

Imelda Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitación Trinidad Romuáldez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who was First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power after her husband Ferdinand ...

, visits in a

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

. **9 August: Stadium hosts first Singapore National Day Parade (NDP). *1977 **13 May: Tragedy at stadium, as a

crowd crush Crowd collapses and crowd crushes are catastrophic incidents that can occur when a body of people becomes dangerously overcrowded. When numbers are up to about five people per square meter, the environment may feel cramped but manageable; when nu ...

occurs at the ticketing booths before the

Malaysia Cup The Malaysia Cup (), formerly known as Malaya Cup, is an annual football tournament in Malaysia, held at the end of the calendar year. The cup was first held in 1921. Despite its prestige and popularity as the country's oldest cup tournament, i ...

final between Singapore and

Selangor Selangor ( ; ), also known by the Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the e ...

. One man dies as he suffers a fatal

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

, and 44 are injured. **13 July: Scottish football giants

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

beat Singapore 5–0 in Metro Quadrangular. *1983 **28 May–6 June: Singapore hosts the

Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, commonly known as SEA Games is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with sup ...

, winning 38 golds, 38 silvers and 58 bronzes. The football team, led by

Fandi Ahmad Fandi bin Ahmad (born 29 May 1962) is a Singaporean professional Manager (association football), football manager/head coach and former Association football, player. During his professional career, he played mainly as a Forward (association fo ...

and V. Sundramoorthy, reach their first final but are beaten 1–2 by

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. **Friday, 2 December:

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

performs with his band,

Carlos Alomar Carlos Alomar (born 7 May 1951) is a Puerto Rican guitarist. He is best known for his work with David Bowie from the mid-1970s to the early 2000s, having played on more Bowie albums than any other musician. History The son of a Pentecostal mi ...

Carmine Rojas Carmine Rojas (born February 14, 1953) is an American bass guitarist, musical director and composer. His musical styles include rock, R&B, funk, and jazz. Music career Early years, as sideman Born in Brooklyn, Rojas toured the world with David ...

, Tony Thompson,

Earl Slick Earl Slick (born Frank Madeloni; October 1, 1952, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American guitarist best known for his collaborations with David Bowie, John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith. He has also worked with other ...

Lenny Pickett Lenny Pickett (born April 10, 1954) is an American saxophonist and musical director of the ''Saturday Night Live'' band.

Stan Harrison Stan Harrison (born December 8, 1953) is an American saxophonist who is also accomplished in playing other woodwind instruments, namely the French horn, flute and clarinet. He has also written music for television. Harrison released his first solo ...

, Steve Elson, and David Lebolt in The Serious Moonlight Tour. *1986 **26 July: Rock star

performs. **20 November: Pope

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

makes first visit to Singapore, and conducts a mass. *1988 **18 May: Pop star

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

performs. *1990 **30 March:

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

beat

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

2–1 in the Caltex Cup, a match to commemorate Singapore's 25th year of

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

. *1993 **18 March: Singapore beat

J-League The , commonly a.k.a. shortened to the , and officially known as the for sponsorship with Meiji Yasuda Life, is the men's association football league in Japan. It is responsible for organizing Japan's major professional football tournaments, in ...

club

Nagoya Grampus Eight ; formerly known as is a Japanese association football club that plays in the J1 League, and have for all but one season since the inauguration of the league, following promotion from the J2 League in 2017. Based in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture an ...

4–3 in a friendly. **12–20 June: Singapore hosts Southeast Asian Games, winning 50 golds, 40 silvers and 74 bronzes. The football team however lose 4–5 to

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

in semi-finals on penalties. They lead a comfortable scoreline of 2–0 before Lim Tong Hai scores two

own goal An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net. In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...

s. **29 August and 1 September:

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

performed two concerts there during his

Dangerous World Tour The ''Dangerous'' World Tour was the second world concert tour by American singer Michael Jackson and was staged to promote his eighth studio album '' Dangerous.'' The tour was sponsored by Pepsi-Cola. All profits were donated to various chari ...

in front of 94,000 of attendance. **2 October: American rock legends

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

perform at the stadium on their I'll Sleep When I'm Dead Tour. *1995 **8 May: American rock legends

perform at the stadium on their

These Days Tour These Days Tour was Bon Jovi's concert tour during 1995-96. Van Halen opened as a special guest for Bon Jovi on twenty of the European stadium dates during the second leg promoting their album ''Balance''. The last of the three Wembley Stadium gi ...

. **20 May:

English football Football is the most popular sport in England. Widely regarded as the birthplace of modern football, the first official rules of the game were established in England in 1863. The country is home to the world's first football league, the oldest ...

club

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

beat Singapore 3–1 in a friendly. **26 May: Singapore beat English football club

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

4–2 on penalties in a friendly, drawing 1–1 at full-time. *1996 **1 April: Then-

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Goh Chok Tong Goh Chok Tong (born 20 May 1941) is a Singaporean former politician who served as the second prime minister of Singapore from 1990 to 2004 and as a senior minister of Singapore from 2004 to 2011. He served as the secretary-general of the Peo ...

is guest-of-honour at

S-League The Singapore Premier League, commonly abbreviated as the SPL, officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional football league sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), wh ...

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

. **1 August: English football club

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

beat S-League All-Stars 5–0 in a friendly. **25 October:

performed there during the

HIStory World Tour The ''HIS''tory World Tour was the third and final worldwide solo concert tour by American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson, covering Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa and North America. The tour included a total of 82 concerts spanning the gl ...

in front of 35,000 of attendance. *1997 **3 September:

club

Kashima Antlers The are a professional association football, football club based in Kashima, Ibaraki, Japan. They currently play in the J1 League, the top tier of Japanese professional football leagues. The club has financial backing from Mercari, a Japanese ...

beat

Geylang United FC Geylang International Football Club is a professional football club based in Bedok, Singapore, that competes in Singapore Premier League, the top division of football in Singapore. The club was founded in 1973 and played their first season in 1 ...

2–1 in an Asian Club Championship (predecessor of

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

.) *1998 **4 March:

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...

and

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

perform together. **31 October: Singapore lift first international

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

trophy, beating

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

25–13 in the plate final of the Standard Chartered Asian Rugby Championships. *1999 **1 May:

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

ese diva A*Mei, the first Asian artist to perform at Singapore National Stadium. *2000 **13 March: International phenomenon

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

performs for the first time in Singapore. *2001 **1 February: A fire causes damage to a media room above the grandstand. **16 July: English football club

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

beat Singapore 2–0 in a friendly. **24 July: English football club

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

thrash Singapore 8–1 in a friendly. *2002 **24 July: Fire at National Stadium, the National Day Parade's main

stage Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

catches fire because of an electrical fault. **18 December: Singapore are beaten 0–4 by Malaysia in the

Tiger Cup The ASEAN Championship (formerly known as the AFF Championship or AFF Cup), currently known as the ASEAN Hyundai Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the biennial football tournament organized by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) for men's natio ...

. Singapore, who were joint hosts with Indonesia for the group stages, were eventually knocked out of the competition after only managing a 1–1 draw with Thailand on 22 December. *2005 **16 January: Singapore clinch Tiger Cup at National Stadium, beating

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

2–1 (5–2 on aggregate), in the second leg of the final. *2006 **9 August: Stadium hosts last National Day Parade. *2007 **31 January: Singapore beat Thailand 2–1 in the first leg of the

Asean Football Championship The ASEAN Championship (formerly known as the AFF Championship or AFF Cup), currently known as the ASEAN Hyundai Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the biennial football tournament organized by the ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) for men's natio ...

final. They clinch their third Asean title on 4 February, drawing 1–1 in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

to win 3–2 on aggregate. **30 June: Official closing ceremony, as the stadium was scheduled to be torn down by the end of 2007 to make way for the new

. **9 August: The stadium's temporary facilities at Marina Bay Float stadium opens and the first major event to be held there, was the National Day Parade 2007. It's now to its last NDP held at Marina Bay on 9 August 2014 before moving back to the

at Kallang in 2016. *2008 **26 March: The National Stadium sees the hosting of a World Cup third round qualifying match for the first time, and Singapore beat

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

2–0. **3 April: The Sports Council announces that the stadium would host at least two more football games, due to ongoing delays in securing the paperwork for the Sports Hub construction. **2 June: The stadium hosted the second home game for the World Cup third round qualifying match, but saw the hosts thrashed 3–7 by

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

. **14 June: The stadium hosted the third home game for the qualifying, but the hosts lost 0–2 to Saudi Arabia. **28 July: With the project for the new Sports Hub delayed, the stadium hosted a friendly against the

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Olympic team which saw the samba kings winning 3–0. **21 December: In the Suzuki Cup semi-finals, the renamed

, one leg of the game against Vietnam was played at the National Stadium, but Singapore lose to ten-man Vietnam to a goal by Nguyễn Quang Hải, and lost 0–1 on aggregate and were eliminated. *2009 **27 January: The stadium hosts the first Group E Asian Cup qualifiers match and the Lions beat Jordan 2–1. **26 July: English football club Liverpool makes their second visit to Singapore and the Reds beat the Singapore national team 5–0. **12 August: Singapore held the Chinese national team to a 1–1 draw in a special National Day Challenge but lost 4–3 in the penalty shootout. **4 November: The Singapore national team beat the Indonesian national team 3–1 in a friendly. **14 November: The second Group E qualifier on home soil for the Asian Cup results in a 1–3 reverse to Thailand. *2010 **6 January: The third Group E qualifier for the Asian Cup was a 1–3 defeat to Iran. **17 April: Taiwanese pop group

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's March equinox, spring equinox and midsummer June solstice, solstice. Festivities ma ...

's series of 2010 concerts' Singapore leg, initially scheduled to be held at the Padang was rearranged to the National Stadium, due to overwhelming response. This is the first non-football event to be held at the stadium since the official closure. **June: The grass pitch was stripped bare and the grass has been transplanted to other fields under the Sports Council such as the Kallang Practice Track. This was the first sign of the demolition of the stadium after a three-year delay. **29 September: The National Stadium started its demolition and making way for the construction of the Sports Hub. *2011 **February: The demolition of the entire stadium completes. *2012 **late 2012: It was announced that National Day Parade 2013 would be the last National Day Parade to be held at the Marina Bay Floating Stadium before moving back to Kallang in 2014. *2013 **10 June: Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Mr

Lawrence Wong Lawrence Wong Shyun Tsai. In this Chinese name, the Chinese surname, family name is Huang (surname), Wong. In accordance with custom, the Western-style name is Lawrence Wong and the Chinese-style name is Wong Shyun Tsai. (born 18 December 197 ...

visits the construction site of the new National Stadium before its completion. **26 November: It was announced that the National Day Parade in 2014 will be the official last one at Marina Bay, as the Sports Hub will not make it on time for the parade. *2014 **14 February: Sports Hub CEO Philippe Collin Delavaud announced that the Sports Hub will not be fully open by April 2014 as the National Stadium's completion was pushed back to June 2014. **30 June: The new

was officially opened on the former site of the Former National Stadium.

References

External links

National Stadium tribute website

History of the National Stadium
{{Authority control Athletics (track and field) venues in Singapore Defunct rugby union venues Demolished buildings and structures in Singapore Defunct football venues in Singapore Kallang

Rugby union stadiums in Singapore Sports venues completed in 1973 Sports venues demolished in 2011 Sports venues in Singapore Singapore Premier League venues 1973 establishments in Singapore 2007 disestablishments in Singapore Southeast Asian Games stadiums 20th-century architecture in Singapore

History

Conceptualisation

Planning

Construction

Redevelopment

Closure

Demolition

Post-closure

Facilities

New National Stadium

Timeline

See also

References

External links