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.

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

[2] As part of the planning process, the Public Works Department's chief architect, Tan Beng Kiat, studied several stadiums overseas.

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

Plans were made to demolish the stadium and build a multipurpose, 35.6 hectares (88 acres) Singapore Sports Hub in its place.

[10] 45,000 people attended the event, together with President S R Nathan, members of the Cabinet and Singapore athletes, past and present.

[11] Before the ceremony, a football match featuring ex-internationals from Singapore and Malaysia like Quah Kim Song, Terry Pathmanathan, Samat Allapitchay, V. Sundramoorthy, David Lee, Dollah Kassim, Soh Chin Aun, Santokh Singh, Chow Siew Wai and K. Gunalan was played.

[12] The match was followed by the highlight of the evening, an international friendly between ASEAN champions Singapore and the Asian Cup bound Australian team, the Socceroos.

[14] Some of the locations picked by public are Fort Canning, HortPark, Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park and the National Museum of Singapore.