TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The National Day event for Taiwan this year will be held at Tainan Air Base on Oct. 8 in a first for the country, the Tainan City Government announced on Tuesday (Sept. 12).

Normally off-limits, the air base in Tainan will be open for the occasion, a rare opportunity for the public to be allowed in a military site, said Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲). This, hopefully, will raise awareness of the importance of national security among the public, he added.

Participants will have a chance to view some of the country’s Air Force aircraft, including Indigenous Defense Fighters (IDFs) and the Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, according to the city government.

The National Day celebrations will also feature a concert with a line-up of artists from pop music to Guoyue (an extension of traditional Chinese music). Performers include rapper Aquaman, singer Chris Hung, singer-songwriter Enno Cheng, Tendrum Art Percussion Group, and Musou Band.

A total of 1,500 seats are available and can only be registered online (https://reurl.cc/V46oLR) between Sept. 13-23. The event appears so popular that registrations were no longer accepted in the early hours of Wednesday (Sept. 13), but the organizers said on Wednesday morning that registrations would be opened at 12 noon.

Successful applicants will need to present their ID Cards before being shuttled to the venue of the event. The event is scheduled to run between 5:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.