“I have no regrets,” said the Singaporean who spent 45 minutes lying under the scorching sun at Pasir Ris beach to get a national flag sunburn on his chest in hopes of winning a chance to score a National Day Parade ticket.

Michael Collins, a 25-year-old content creator, was spotted at the Padang yesterday afternoon (Aug 9), all pumped up to celebrate the nation’s 59th birthday after successfully pulling off his stunt.

Collins and his friend Ng Yi Hui, had in an Instagram video on August 7, addressed local singer Benjamin Kheng who had asked his followers to write a love letter to Singapore for a chance to win a pair of tickets.

Kheng wrote and performed this year’s National Day theme song.

Speaking to AsiaOne after the show, Collins said that they eventually won their tickets from Kheng’s giveaway. He shared that it was a last-ditch attempt at trying to get tickets to the parade.

“We tried to ballot for the tickets, and I even asked my friends to help…We also participated in a radio station giveaway, but we still couldn’t get tickets,” said the 25-year-old content creator.

“We were actually planning to come here and beg for tickets,” he joked.

After Kheng commented on his video, Collins revealed that he personally messaged the singer on Instagram to secure his tickets.

“It was a mad rush of adrenaline that really paid off.”

He and Ng ended up having to brave the rain at the Padangfor the showwhich did not dampen their high spirits.

The duo agreed that this year’s National Day parade was a memorable one for them, especially since they got to see Kheng perform.

About the flag on his chest, Collins cheekily remarked: “This kind of sunburn usually takes months to fade, so I’ll probably be rocking this for quite some time.”

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