The Ministry of Interior (MoI) has planned a host of sport, cultural and entertainment events for expatriate communities as part of Qatar National Day celebrations, it was announced on Tuesday at a meeting organised by the ministry. 
Most of the events will take place between 2.30pm and 10pm on December 18, said MoI public relations department director Brigadier Abdullah Khalifa al-Muftah.
MoI's director of Establishments and Authorities Security Department Brigadier Ali Khujaim al-Azbi, Mawater general co-ordinator Abdullah Mohamed Fahed al-Hajeri, and Batabet Center spokesman Mohamed al-Jundi were also present. 
The festivities will be hosted by the Organising Committee of the Associated Activities of Qatar National Day 2017 Celebrations, in association with the MoI.
Al-Hajeri said the Mawater team will take part with 50 classic cars in the festivities at all venues. 
Al-Jundi said Batabet Center, under the Ministry of Culture and Sports, will participate in the celebrations with 55 motorbikes starting from Labour City and culminating at Barwa al Baraha.
A cricket tournament featuring players from Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh is also on the cards. It will be held at the Asian Town Cricket Stadium. Misbah-ul-Haq, Umer Gul, Wahab Riaz, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Butt, Abdul Razzaq and Fawad Alam (Pakistan), Dilhara Fernando and Jeevan Mendis (Sri Lanka), Elias Sunny, Inam-ul-Haq and Ashraful (Bangladesh), Lakshmipathy Balaji and Badrinath (India) will represent various teams.
A music concert featuring 14 artistes from Pakistan will be held at the Wakra Sports Club. Four Asian orchestras are also expected to perform at other venues. About 2,000 Filipino expatriates will take part in a 2km fun run which will start at the Rayyan Stadium. It is scheduled for a 1pm-start. 
One of the major highlights of the celebrations is the free blood sugar screening for about 16,000 expatriate workers at Asian Town. 
At the Wakra Sports Club, march-past and cultural performances by students of MES Indian School, Bhavans Public School, DPS Modern Indian School, Pak Shama School, and Shantiniketan Indian School will be held. 
A musical concert (6 to 9 pm) by Pakistani artistes will feature Rauf Lala, Karan Khan, Nilo, Deeba Kiran, Laila Nihal, Shama Adil, Soukat Mehmood, Kashmal, Shahid Ali Khan, Bul Bul, Attaullah, Gullai and Khan Zeb. The Harley Davidson riders will demonstrate their skills at the venue. 
At the Barwa Al Baraha (Doha Industrial Area) and Labour City (Doha Industrial Area), cultural shows and performances by Indian, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, and Nepalese teams will be held. Artists from different communities are also expected to perform, as is an orchestra.
The Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre will present several traditional and cultural programmes from 2.30pm. Some of the jockeys of Malayalam FM Radio 98.6 will host events. The cultural shows by communities' teams and orchestra will start at 4pm. 
At Asian Town, march-past and cultural events featuring children of Ideal Indian School, Birla Public School, Noble International School, Sri Lankan Stafford School, Bangladesh MHM School and Rajagiri School will be held. 
At the Rayyan Sports Club, cultural shows of Filipino, Indonesian and Malaysian community teams have been planned.
March-pasts and performances by students of Philippine International School Qatar, Philippine School of Doha, Doha Modern Indian School, Olive International School, and Qatar Institute for Speech and Hearing are also on the schedule.
At the Barwa Workers Recreation Complex in Al Khor Industrial Area, cultural shows and performances by Bangladeshi, Nepalese and Al Khor community teams and artistes from different communities have been planned. A musical performance by Asian orchestra team will also enthral the audience.
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