Kids with Qatar National flags at Darb Al Saai.
Darb Al Saai, prime venue of National Day celebrations, was closed last night as visitors bid farewell to the colourful spot after enjoying vibrant activities for ten days starting from December 9.
A large number of visitors of Darb Al Saai were keen to attend and participate in all the activities. More than 29 activities were organised this year at Darb Al Saai by various non-government and government bodies like the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Municipality and Environment, Ministry of Economy and Commerce, General Directorate of Civil Defence, General Directorate of Traffic, Police College, QF for Social Work, and Qatar Foundation among others.
For the first time this year, expatriate communities joined the National Day celebrations through a new activity ‘Friendship Parade’ where more than 2,500 people representing 55 communities participated in the celebration in order to express unity, love and gratitude to the beloved.
Yesterday, four communities from Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia and Mauritania performed folk shows at the Darb Al Saai theatre, in order to share with citizens the joy of the National Day and also to express their solidarity and unity with them.
Talking to The Peninsula, a number of supervisors of the pavilions said that the participation of the entities was excellent and they provided different cultural and entertainment activities which met and served the National Day vision.
The activities educated visitors on loyalty to the leader, cohesion and briefed them about the meanings of the National Day and the sacrifices of grandfathers.
The Minister of Culture and Sports H E Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali and Head of the National Day organising committee said earlier that the celebrations highlight the patriotism and solidarity of the people of Qatar with their leadership. “It also enhances the sovereignty and cohesion between the citizens and residents of Qatar and increases the pride of Qatar’s unity in every inch of its land.”
A number of ministers among them were the Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs H E Dr Khalid bin Mohamed Al Attiyah and many other senior officials and ambassadors visited Darb Al Saai celebrations.
During celebrations at Darb Al Saai, Prime Minister and Interior Minister unveiled the ‘Dignity Image’ portrait of Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on December 17, which entered Guinness World Records with the participation of 13,824 persons colouring the portrait.
Executive Director of Qatar Foundation for Social Work, Amal bint Abdullatif Al Mannai, honoured all participants and organisers of the activities of the centres working under the (QFSW) umbrella.
She also said that the idea of gathering all the centres at one roof was a great idea as it enabled the centres to perform their social awareness role well. The participation of the QFSW was through a special event for children “Kids Qatar” and includes a number of different games for each of the centres working under QFSW. Every centre provided special games fit with its vision and attracted many visitors either students from schools or families who brought their children to participate in the activities. It also distributed thousands of gifts among visitors of QFSW pavilion.
