You may have noticed that Qatar is getting more colourful these last few weeks as buildings, homes, cars, and public spaces are being decorated for Qatar National Day! This year’s celebrations are all the more prescient in the wake of the ongoing blockade against Qatar, making Qatar National Day 2017 an occasion for the community to once again come together in a show of strength, solidarity, and celebration under the motto of ‘Promise of Prosperity and Glory’.

The sale of National Day items such as flags, banners, car decals, stickers, and more have seen an unprecedented rise this year according to The Peninsula as images of the Qatari flag, and the likeness of HH the Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani adorn private and public spaces across the country.

(Photo credit: The Peninsula)

The yearly National Day village at Darb Al Saai is once again up and running, with activities opening to the public as of today – Saturday, December 9, and will run until Wednesday, December 20. With a host of family-friendly cultural events on display, here’s a rundown of some of this year’s top Darb Al Saai highlights!

Qatar Foundation

• The theme at the QF Darb Al Saai tent is ‘Siraj’, their new 3-D animated children’s series that aims to instill a love of learning for the Arabic language in young viewers.
• Story-telling sessions and a horse-riding simulator aimed at educating children about Qatari culture and heritage.
• An immersive QF Tram experience that will take visitors on a virtual tour of Education City schools and research centres while highlighting QF’s commitment to sustainability.
• Interactive story sessions, games, book swap, and story maze from QF’s National Reading Campaign.

Qatar Police College

• Want to set a Guinness World Record? The Qatar Police College will try the biggest portrait of HH the Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, called ‘The Dignity Image’ at Darb Al Saai, with more than 14,000 people needed to colour in the image in order to set the record!

Qatar Foundation for Social Work (QFSW)

• QFSW will launch ‘Kids Qatar’ at Darb Al Saai – a special event with games for children within a dedicated zone.

Ministry of Defence (MOD)

• MOD will have its own unique pavilion at Darb Al Saai for Qatar National Day 2018. Called Defence Camp, members of Qatar's Armed Forces will conduct live military demonstrations, military marching band processions, hand combat displays, and parachute landings.
• Visitors can also try their hand at a military obstacle course, and special forces exercises, explore old and modern military vehicles on-hand, and walk through a special replica of the General Headquarters of the Armed Forces that houses a timeline of its progress from 1948 to the present.

Other Qatar National Day highlights:

Katara Cultural Village

• Katara will be transformed into a space with exceptional national significance and activities and displays of cultural tradition for the whole family to enjoy.

Embrace Doha

• Running from December 12-19, Embrace Doha will host ‘Labaih Ya Emir’ (Here I am, at your service our Emir) on the Katara Esplanade, featuring dedicated activity zones themed around Education, Entertainment, Culture, and a Local Village.

Labaih Ya Emir timings:

Sun-Sat: 4:00 p.m. till 10:00 p.m.

Things To Know

Darb Al Saai timings:

Sat-Thurs: 8:00 a.m. till 12 noon

4:00 p.m. till 10:00 p.m.

Friday: 2:00 p.m. till 11:00 p.m.

The Qatar National Day organizing committee has set aside vast swathes of parking for visitors at Darb Al Saai, and on-site medical services will be available in conjunction with Hamad Medical Corporation.

Are you excited for this year’s Qatar National Day festivities? Don’t forget to visit QatarNationalDay.qa for all your latest events updates! And, don’t forget to like and share this article!

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Ashlee

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