File picture from the first Kite Festival held in 2017 used for representation.
DOHA: Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF) yesterday announced the second edition of International Kite Festival which will take place from March 6 to 9 in Aspire Park.
Announcing the details about the Kite Festival yesterday, Mohammad Khalifa Al Suwaidi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AZF, said the 2018 edition of the festival is expected to attract thousands of visitors.
Kholoud Al Hail, Chairperson of the Event’s Organising Committee, Essa Al Hitmi, General Manager at Al Kass Sports Channel, Nasser Abdullah Al Hajri, Director of PR and Communications at AZF were present in the press conference, along with representatives from the event’s sponsors, including Katara, Ooredoo, Qatar Airways, Salam Stores and Virgin Megastores.
Al Suwaidi said during a press conference held at The Torch Hotel yesterday: “This time we have selected the best time of the year to host the Kite Festival, as last year we faced a lot of problems related to weather. This year we have come up with many solutions, everyone will witness a better event. Safety precautions are our first priority for each event we host. We have made all preparations of security measures which will be needed during the event”.
“The second edition of the event also demonstrates Qatar’s growing position as a global sports hub and shows how AZF plays an integral role in helping achieve Qatar’s vision and boosting tourism and sporting sectors in the country,” he added.
This year’s event will witness a growing number of participating countries, with more than 102 participants from 23 countries set to take part in the festival. Last year, 40 participants from 13 countries took part.
Countries participating this edition include: Austria, Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hungary, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Netherlands, Pakistan, Philippines, Spain, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom and the United States of America.
For the first time, Qatar has brought together a number of local and expatriate community members who will be representing Qatar at the international competition. To prepare the national team for the competition, members of the organising committee set up a number of workshops, delivered by internationally renowned kite flyers with extensive experience in the field, in the months leading up to the main event.
Essa Al Hitmi, General Manager at Al Kass Sports Channel, and Mohammad Khalifa Al-Suwaidi, (CEO) of AZF, at a press conference yesterday. Pic: Anwar Sadath/The Peninsula
During the conference, Saud Al Muhannadi, Qatar’s Team Captain said: “Our team members belong from Qatar and different nationalities. The members are bilingual to communicate easily with each other. For the first time we are participating in an international kite festival as a team. We all are excited to take part in this festival filled with activities”.
Kholoud Al Hail, Chairperson of the Event’s Organising Committee, said that the four days of the 2nd Aspire International Kite Festival will be split into morning and afternoon sessions.
“The morning sessions will run from 9am until 12pm. It will comprise various workshops for students who are taking part in a local kite flying competition and will be organised on the sidelines of the main international event on a smaller scale for local schools’ teams,” she said.
The afternoon sessions will run from 3pm until 11pm, and comprise various entertainment activities and more than 28 food and beverage outlets set up alongside the main International Kite Flying competition.
The festival organiser has designed a dedicated schools programme to introduce children to the sport of kite flying through a friendly inter-school competition, with teams representing 14 local schools vying for a range of cash prizes including QR50,000 for first place, QR30,000 for second place and QR20,000 for third place.
Along with the International Kite Festival, AZF, in collaboration with the Qatar Photographic Society, will launch a photography competition for amateur and professional photographers in Qatar. Entrants can compete by posting their photos on social media under the hashtag #AspireKiteFest for a chance to win valuable prizes and get the honour of being crowned the 2018 Aspire International Kite Festival Photography Competition winner.
First place winner of the 2018 Aspire International Kite Festival Photography Competition will win a QR20,000 cash prize. Second place winner will get a business class plane ticket to a destination of their choice. Third place winner will receive two economy class plane tickets, whilst fourth and fifth place winners will each receive a professional camera.
A poster competition for children, aged between of 5 and 13, will also seek out the best illustration of a kite in the skies above Aspire Park for a chance to win valuable giveaways from Virgin Megastores.
