Parade, which was held in 1966, was held at the Padang in the city centre. In 2003, the Esplanade – "Theatres on the Bay", a centre for performing arts, was opened. The Esplanade is also known as "The Durian", due to its resemblance to the fruit. The Arts House at Old Parliament Lane has also been supportive of local performing arts in recent years. Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) and LASALLE College of the Arts are the two main arts institutions offering full-time programmes for the performing arts in Singapore. Languages Many Singaporeans are bilingual. Most speak Singaporean English and another language, most commonly Mandarin, Malay, Tamil or Singapore Colloquial English (Singlish). Singapore Standard English is virtually the same as British English in most aspects of grammar and spelling, though there are some differences in vocabulary as well as minor ones in spelling due to Americanisation; for example, the word 'swap' is commonly spelled 'swop', as is standard in The Straits Times. All Singaporeans study English as their first language in schools, under the compulsory local education system, and their mother-tongue language as their second language. Thus, most Singaporeans are effectively bilingual, especially the youths in today's society. There are four main languages in usage in Singapore. The 'national' language of Singapore is Malay. This is in recognition of the Malay people as the indigenous community in Singapore even though a majority of Singaporeans today do not speak Malay. Malay is used in the national anthem, national motto and military parade drill commands. Tamil is an official language as a plurality of South Asians in Singapore are ethnic Tamils from South India and Sri Lanka. However, North Indians are also prevalent in Singapore, especially the Sikhs who speak the Punjabi language. While most Chinese Singaporeans are descendants of southern Chinese migrants who spoke a variety of regional languages, it is the northern Chinese language of Mandarin that is official in Singapore, though dialects such as Hokkien and Cantonese are still prevalent in the older generation of Chinese. Parks Gardens and gardening have a special place in Singaporean culture as well as in politics. Historically this is all officially attributed to Lee Kuan Yew who apparently spearheaded this philosophy in 1963 and more significantly in 1967 after independence. The "garden city" vision was envisioned to transform Singapore into a city with abundant lush greenery and a clean environment in order