SINGAPORE — At 8.59am, a siren sounded, signalling the start of National Day celebrations for most, which was to begin shortly on a sombre note — a recording of the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew reading the Proclamation of Independence.

The recording, made in 2012, was played a minute later, broadcast live on local TV and radio channels and at various National Day Observance Ceremonies (NDOCs) held islandwide. It was the first time that people in Singapore heard the Proclamation in the late Mr Lee’s voice, as the original was read by Radio Singapore announcer Steven Lee in 1965.

The broadcast was followed by the singing of the National Anthem and the reciting of the pledge at the NDOCs, which were held in unison, by both grassroots organisation and corporations.

Later, festivities got under way, among them a carnival at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, where cultural activities such as ketupat weaving and batik painting kept visitors entertained, and samples of local food and traditional sweets were handed out.

A “Retrolicious” carnival was held at the former Tanjong Pagar Railway station, organised by the Singapore Land Authority, where visitors got to enjoy traditional games such as five stones and chapteh, with old songs like “Chan Mali Chan” playing in the background.

“I don’t think the kids had a chance to see the station when it was operating as a station ... (And the carnival) was a good idea because the kids have never seen these games before,” said Ms Chua Ai Chun, 43, who came to the carnival with her husband and two children.

For many older Singaporeans who used to take the train into Malaysia from the station, it was their first time coming back in many years since it closed. Ms Latiffah, 55, and her husband still remembered the day they took the train into Penang for their honeymoon more than 30 years ago, and wanted to show the place to their daughter and son-in-law.