The blue skies above Aspire Park were filled with a hundred vivid kite designs, attracting a large number of people to the third edition of the Aspire International Kite Festival.

More than 7,000 people have so far flocked to Aspire Park for the festival, Aspire Zone Foundation said in a statement on Thursday.

The event, which began on March 6 and concludes on Saturday, features kites in various colours and shapes — inspired by land and sea creatures such as horses, dogs, whales, fish, sea horse, octopus, stingray and giraffes, as well as dragon and dinosaurs, among others.

“The fact that thousands of visitors were scattered across Aspire Park on the very first day of the festival exceeded our expectations. Guests were treated to exclusive kites designed by international teams,” said Tahani Khalifa al-Suwaidi, a member of the event’s organising committee, in a press statement.

She encouraged people from all walks of life in the country to come and take part in the various activities offered at the festival.

A large number of families and children from different communities in Qatar revelled in a fun-filled atmosphere, while others — including students from different schools — learned about the latest trends in kite-making and kite-flying at the event.

This year’s edition of the festival features kites portraying contemporary designs from all over the world.

From the participants, India’s team was seen flying bright handmade kites that depicted the rich heritage of their country.

On the other side of the field, French kite professionals flew kites displaying French modern and contemporary art.

The Italian team was also present with their spectacular kites at the centre of the field.

According to the organisers, the Kuwaiti team’s presence was strongly felt at the festival with their unique kite entries by Abdelrahman al-Faresi, Mohamed al-Farasi, Mubarak Marzooq, Mohamed al-Mosowy and Saoud al-Ghareeb.

“This is our first time to fly our kites on such a large field like this one. We’ve seen something similar in the UK but on a smaller scale. I salute our neighbouring country for organising this event,” Kuwaiti team head Abdelrahman al-Faresi said.

Meanwhile, Qatar’s former goalkeeper Ahmed Khaleel said: “At Aspire, we repeatedly see excellence. Today’s turnout of visitors was astonishing and we are proud to see such events taking place in Qatar every year.”

The event has also encouraged and inspired many students and children to fly kites, play outdoors and stay away from electronic gadgets such as mobile phones and tablets.

Besides kite-flying, the festival also hosts a number of children’s activities, face-painting and stage performances.

Food stalls are spread around the park as well.

This year's festival is sponsored by Katara — the Cultural Village, Ooredoo, Qatar Airways, Dolphin Energy, Kidzania and Al-Salam Group.

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