Al Wakrah Sports Club is all set to witness spectacular performances by artistes from Pakistan and Bangladesh on the occasion of Qatar National Day on December 18.
A large number of Pakistani and Bangladeshi families and workers are expected to flock to Wakrah to enjoy the National Day programmes along with people of other nationalities.
The programmes, which are based on the theme “One Love”, highlight the bond between Qataris and residents and how all come together to celebrate.
Al Wakrah Stadium, with a capacity of more than 12,000 seats, will see performances by members of the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities, both local talents as well as performers from those countries.
They will perform cultural shows, thematic dances, songs, comedy show and more.
The Pakistan Education Centre, the Bangladesh MHM School, Bhavan’s Public School and the DPS-MIS will participate in the celebrations with a parade, songs, dances and themed shows.
Football and volleyball matches will also be held between the community teams besides a racing competition for schoolchildren and the public.

Cultural programmes
The programmes will start with the national anthem at 8am by school students, followed by a parade featuring students from each participating school. The schools will highlight Qatari traditions in the seven-minute parade.
A general song competition and a thematic song contest will be held between the schools before the communities start performing cultural and entertainment shows on the stage.
In the morning session, the Pakistani community will have a cultural performance led by Ms Samra, songs led by Captain Nusrat, a solo tabla performance by Ustad Nazakat Ali Khan, a Pakistani Khattak dance led by Shiraz Khan, a Pakistani folk dance led by Furqan Paracha, a performance by Urdu/Pashto comedian Meera Awaiz, and songs by Punjab Musical Group.
The Bangladeshi community programmes in the morning include a group dance by Bangladesh School students led by Bipasha Islam, a Bangla folk song led by Rupel Das, a fashion show by Bangladesh School students led by Nusrath, a folk song performance led by Arif Chowdhury, a drama on dowry led by Bipasha Islam, a patriotic group song led by Saiful, a group dance by Bangladesh School students led by Dr Suparna Ghosh, and classic songs by Burhanuddin Mukul/Abdulla al-Mamoon.
The afternoon session will start with a performance of the Pashto orchestra team followed by a comedy performance of Mirawas in Pashto and Urdu, general songs and dances.
Also in the afternoon, songs and dances by Bangladeshi artistes and a comedy show by Sarwar Jahan will entertain the audience.
The participating schools will compete in a general dance recital followed by a thematic show on Qatar, where each school will put up a 10-minute skit featuring Qatar.
The evening session will witness performances by noted Pakistani Pashto singers and artistes such as Hanifa Raja, Haroon Bacha, Masroor Fateh Ali Khan, Mirawas, and Nafis Khan, while the Bangladesh community will host Bappa Majumdar and Fahmida Nabi.
There will be folkloric performances, traditional shows, acrobatic shows and musical performances at the venue.
The other attractions include a Harley-Davidson motorbike show and a traffic competition for the general public with gifts for winners.

Sporting celebrations
The Wakrah indoor stadium will witness volleyball matches between 10 teams, starting from 8am. The final will be played at 5pm.
A friendly football match between the Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities will be held on the football training ground.
Apart from these, there will be a 100m race for children aged below 10 years, a 200m race for students aged between 10 and 20 years, and an 800m race for the general public.
The volleyball matches and athletics events will be managed by VoliQ, led by Ashique Ahmed.

Miscellaneous facilities and services
The venue will also provide various services to the public. Free blood and sugar checks will be held in co-operation with the Supreme Council of Health, the Hamad Medical Corporation, the Qatar Red Crescent (QRC), and KIMS Qatar Medical Centre.
In addition, first-aid training by the QRC will be provided at the venue.
Further, the venue will have praying areas for the public, resting areas for families, restaurants, emergency medical services and other facilities.

Help at hand
More than 110 volunteers from different communities will be deployed from 6am to 10pm at the venue to ensure that the event runs smoothly.

A work group meeting has been held to assess arrangements for the programmes that will be held at Al Wakrah Stadium in the presence of the Ministry of Interior’s Director of the Public Relations Colonel Abdullah Khalifa al-Muftah, and Mana Ibrahim al-Mana, an official from the Committee of Associated Programmes for Qatar National Day Celebrations 2013.
Head of the Security Committee for National Day Celebrations 2013 Brigadier Ali Salman al-Muhannadi, venue manager Major Arif Abdul Rahman from the Community Policing Section in South Security Department, venue commander Lieutenant Ali Majid al-Qahtani, representatives of the Pakistani community Habib Sheikh and Janan Bangash, representatives of the Bangladeshi community Anver Hussain Akon and Zulfiqar Azad, co-ordinators from the Pakistan Education Centre, the Bangladesh MHM School, the Bright Future Pakistani School, Bhavan’s Public School and the DPS-MIS Indian School, and officers from the Internal Security Force, Community Policing Section in South Security Department and Civil Defence, as well as a representative of the QRC and the heads of the food, logistics, cultural activities, volunteer and sports committees also attended the meeting.
Colonel al-Muftah explained the programme details and arrangements to the attendees.
The meeting evaluated venue arrangements, programme schedules, parking facilities and mechanisms of controlling public entry and exit.
Arrangements have been made for family parking and company buses.