HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, HH the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and other dignitaries attend the ceremonial parade on the Doha Corniche on Friday.

By Joseph Varghese
Staff Reporter

Qatar celebrated the National Day on Friday with grandeur and gaiety with a large number of events and entertainment programmes across the country.

A ceremonial parade, cultural and sports activities by several expatriate groups, festivities at several locations and fireworks were some of the highlights.

Earlier in the day, HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, HH the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, HH the Emir's personal representative HH Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al-Thani and a number of other dignitaries and ministers attended the ceremonial parade on the Doha Corniche.

The stretch of Corniche, where the parade took place, was filled with thousands of citizens and residents who had converged right from the early hours.

The National Day parade started with the national anthem, a recitation from the Holy Qu'ran and followed by an 18-gun salute.

The splendid parade that began at 8 am with the entry of a colourful cavalcade of thoroughbred Arabian horses and camels also featured a set of paratroopers who descended on the Corniche after performing aerial stunts.

The parade also showcased the military strength of the country, displaying an impressive showcase of sophisticated military arsenal of the air, armed and naval forces.

While the parade was progressing on its regular course, several dhows, including some of those equipped with advanced facilities, sailed across the Doha Bay. A number of patrolling vessels of the coastguard also joined the celebrations.

Once the parade was over, HH the Emir and HH the Father Emir walked along the parade route and greeted the crowd. They shook hands with people, hugged children and waved to the crowd.

Meanwhile, different areas such as Darb Al Saai, Katara, four locations for celebrations by expatriate communities as well as other events attracted a large number of people.

Darb Al Saai, which opened on December 8, continued to attract large crowds. The heritage of the country is on display at the booths of the participating organisations.

The festivities on the historic ground will conclude on Sunday.

The Ministry of Interior, in co-ordination with several expatriate communities, organised a number of cultural and sports events at four different locations of the country, ensuring wide participation and involvement of tens of thousands of spectators.

The events were held at Al Wakra Sports Complex, Al Rayyan Sports Complex, Barwa's Al Khor Workers' Sports Complex and Asian Town in the Industrial Area.

Some of the events started on Thursday while most of the competitions and entertainment programmes were conducted on Friday.

According to MOI, more than 40,000 people attended the events.

The participating schools and workers presented a number of portraits inspired by nature in Qatar. They also performed a number of songs in celebration of the National Day.