SINGAPORE — Rehearsals for this year’s National Day Parade (NDP) may be scaled down this year if the haze persists, said parade organisers yesterday.

Meanwhile, three big sporting events slated to be held over the weekend could also be affected if the haze situation continues to deteriorate.

Noting that the details of a possible scale-down of NDP rehearsals are still being finalised, Chairman of Dynamic Defence Display Colonel Dinesh Vasu Dash said: “We are still in the process of discussion. We are watching the situation very carefully. In the event that the haze is prolonged and increases beyond a certain point, we will implement the required measures. We are not hesitating to scale back if required.”

Reflecting on what has been done so far, Chairman of Parade and Ceremony Senior Lieutenant-Colonel Simon Lee said: “We have, right now, an advisory that has gone out for all participants with medical conditions that, for this period, they should stay at home and not come for training”.

“We are also working with the MOE (Ministry of Education), MOH (Ministry of Health) and the other relevant authorities to work out the contingency plans for the various haze levels … What I want, at this point, is to reassure all Singaporeans that the health and safety of all parade participants are utmost in our consideration, so we will take the necessary mitigating measures to make sure that their health is taken care of,” added SLTC Lee.

The first combined rehearsal for this year’s NDP is slated to be held this Saturday. SMRT has announced that 10 of its bus services will be diverted due to road closures for the parade.

On the sporting front, the LionsXII are scheduled to meet Johor Darul Takzim in the sold-out potential Malaysian Super League (MSL) title-decider at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Saturday, while the Singapore Athletic Association (SSA) is due to hold its annual Singapore Open Championships at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium on Saturday and Sunday.

The inaugural National Basketball Association (NBA) 3X 3-on-3 tournament is set to begin tomorrow at Ngee Ann City and end on Sunday.

SSA General Manager James Wong said the association is “continuously monitoring the PSI readings as well as the recommendations of the National Environment Agency, the MOH and Singapore Sports Council leading up to the weekend”.

“If the haze persists at unhealthy levels, we will have a meeting with the teams that have flown in for the event to explain the situation before making a collective decision on whether to cancel some events like the longer distances or even the whole meet,” he said.

The Football Association of Singapore said it will “reschedule the affected matches and inform our stakeholders accordingly” if a decision is taken to postpone the MSL fixture.

The organisers of the NBA 3X could not be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, the OCBC Singapore Pro Cycling Team has not decided whether it will compete in this weekend’s Malaysian National Champs in Perlis and next week’s Jelajah Malaysia, which is a race from Kuala Lumpur to Johor and back.

Said Team Manager Justin Cheong: “Unless it’s really unsafe, we will go ahead and take part.

“The race may get called off if the organisers find it hazardous … or if the riders themselves decide not to race. We are not going to risk their health, but will find out (and decide what to do) when we get there.”