National Day celebrations for expats at four venues

A number of events and competitions will be held at Wakra Sports Stadium, Rayyan Sports Club and Barwa Workers Recreation Complex at Al Khor for expatriates as part of the Qatar National Day (QND) celebrations, in addition to those at the Asian Town. Cricket, football, running races, tug-of-war, volleyball and basketball are among the events to be held at the four venues under the auspices of the Organising Committee of the Associated Activities of the Qatar National Day.   Ministry of Interior’s Public Relations Department assistant director Major Mubarak Salem Bouainain said at a meeting yesterday that events would also be held with the aim of providing a safer environment for the expatriate communities of Qatar to participate in the National Day celebrations.Other than competitions on December 18, events are also to be held at some of the venues on December 17 as well. QND celebrations security committee vice chairman Major Nasser Abdullah al-Suwaidi also spoke at the meeting attended by representatives of the Indian, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Indonesian and Nepalese expatriate communities. Chairman of the Ibn Ajayan Projects (which operates the Asian Town)  Mohamed bin Ajayan al-Ahbabi was present.The Asian Town events would feature a parade by small contingents of military vehicles, Internal Security Force, Traffic Department, Civil Defence and Al Faaza Police. Apart from a show of classic cars, it would also feature a procession by Harley Davidson motor bikers group.The cricket tournament at Asian Town would feature players from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and South Africa. Indian players include Yusuf Pathan, Wasim Jaffar, L Balaji, the Pakistan players are Salman Butt, Saeed Ajmal, Kamran Akmal, Khalid Bashir,  Umar Akmal and Sohail Tanveer, Bangladesh cricketers include Mohamed Ashraful, Mohamed Sharif and Mohamed Ilyas. Chaminda Vaas and Farveez Mahroof (both from Sri Lanka) and Nawroz Mangal from Afghanistan will also take part in the event.At the Wakra Sports Club, events of Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities are scheduled.  But schools of various expatriate communities will gather there for celebrations. They include DPS-Modern Indian School, Bhavan’s Public School and Shantiniketan Indian School, Bangladesh MHM School, Pak Shama School and Pakistan Education Center. The events will start at Wakra Sports Club at 8am on December 18.A number of singers from Pakistan will gather for a music concert. They include Safraz Nadia Gul, Haarun Basha, Osman Bangesh, Sadiq Sana, Shoukat Mahmoud, Shama Adel, Shahid Ali Khan and Khanzeb. The concert is scheduled for 4pm on December 18.At Rayyan Sports Club indoor stadium, the Filipino and Indonesian communities will showcase their cultural talents, along with children of different expatriate schools. The children  performing there include those from MES Indian School, Philippines School Doha, Philippines International School Qatar, Doha Modern Indian School and Olive International School. The events will be held between 8am and 10pm on December 18.At Barwa Workers Complex in Al Khor, a music concert `Rafi Nite’ is planned. Indian playback singer Mohamed Aslam and his team will entertain the gathering from 4pm on December 17.On  December 18, Seashore Group will host Indian and Filipino cultural shows, said the group’s representative  Hamad Saeed Salim al-Mohannadi yesterday. Cultural, folk and music shows of Nepalese expats and Al Khor Community teams are also planned. Children of Al Khor International School (Indian stream) are also participating.At the meeting yesterday, Major Mubarak urged the managements of companies to send as many workers as possible for the events to be held as part of the QND celebrations. There are prizes for the public through raffle draws at all four venues.