Arab Games Doha 2011 to Open Friday

Doha, December 07 (QNA) - The opening ceremony of the 12th Arab Games "Doha 2011", hosted by the State of Qatar, will begin on Friday December 9 at Khalifa International Stadium. The Arab Games taking place from December 9 to 23, 2011 will feature 29 sports and over 6,000 athletes and officials and will be accompanied by other multi-sport event. The opening ceremony, which will be attended by more than one thousand people and is organized by David Atkins Enterprises (DAE), one of the best known international teams for creative event production, will feature new technology to be used for the first time in opening ceremonies of major sporting events. While top Arab athletes compete against each other within the 14 fully-equipped competition venues, prime non-competition venues such as the Athletes' Village, Katara, Souq Waqef, and Aspire Park. Activities will run throughout the day at each destination during the entire games period. Musical artists and dance troupes representing Qatar, Tunisia, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq will entertain athletes, officials, and visitors at the Athletes Village throughout the games period. Cultural events related to the Arab Games are not limited to the Athletes' Village Katara, the Cultural Village, is also a key destination, featuring the increasingly appreciated Arab Games Exhibit. The Arab Games Exhibit is a rich collection of memorabilia from past occurrences of the much-anticipated Arab multisport event, launched by the Qatar Museums Authority (QMA). The exhibition is an initiative by the Qatar Olympic & Sports Museum at QMA, supported by its partners Qatar Olympic Committee and Egyptian Olympic Committee. Demonstrating a chronological narrative of the Games, the exhibition will feature items from the games, including medals, posters, programs, films and interviews of athletes, photographs, and educational activities that inform visitors about the history of the Arab Games, which first took place in Alexandria, Egypt, back in 1953. The exhibition is divided into five sections, each portraying different periods of the Arab Games since their inception in 1947. In addition, the Arab Games Exhibition sheds light on the participation and achievements of Qatari athletes in past Arab Games, showcasing some of their trophies, medals, and pictures. Alongside the exhibition, a series of educational events catering to school children from various age groups are also to be organized in the near future. For diehard fans, the Aspire Park will host Fan Zones, sponsored by Qtel, including sports themed, high-tech simulator games, a bike zone containing 200 bikes, and family tent. In this dedicated space, fans will also have the opportunity to spend time in the Arab Games Tent an octagon-shaped tent featuring an interactive wall lined with six 42' multi-touch screens portraying different aspects of the Arab Games from its history to current stage. (QNA)