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By Sia Hui Ling
Only 34 years old but she was leaving us. Under the sweltering hot sun, hundreds of people were already gathered at the National Stadium as early as 3.30pm on 30 June 2007. It was the day where thousands would come together to pay tribute to the Grand Old Dame where the Kallang Roar would be heard for the final time.
Athletes filed in to register, some as early as mid-afternoon. These athletes were here to perform a march around the National Stadium one final time, marking the gathering of past and present athletes, both able bodied and disabled, to pay tribute to the mammoth structure and to bid it goodbye.
Thousands of spectators were gathered to watch soccer at the stadium for the last time. The crowd that was present did not disappoint, cheering and shouting for their favourite teams. The Singapore Lions, albeit past their prime, still played with all they had. It was the last chance for all to relive the old days of soccer at the Kallang stadium. Although the local team lost, it was a game well played.
After which, to mark the closing ceremony, the athletes filed out in a long procession around the stadium to the cheers and applause of the spectators. Side by side, the disabled and the able bodied marched down the well worn tracks, with Dr. William Tan heading the line of disabled athletes.
The cauldron, lit by veteran national sprinter C.Kunalan, blazed in the night. It was a dramatic moment as the athletes came to a stop before the grandstand and the crowd erupted into wild cheers as fireworks soared through the skies.
It would be 5 more long years before the rebirth of the National Stadium. The Marina Bay roar? It just doesn’t quite have that ring to it.