Opening ceremony promising

On Sunday afternoon, as the final preparations for start of the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship are made and anticipation for the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix reaches fever pitch, a unique performance will take place. The Startline Presentation at 13:25 promises to be a unique event in the history of Formula One.

To describe the event as spectacular would be to sell it short. Indeed, for the first time ever, Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has sanctioned the broadcast of coverage from the pre-race festivities as part of the global TV feed to over 400 million viewers, and with very good reason.

The Bahrain Police Band has greeted almost every visiting dignitary who has come to the Kingdom of Bahrain and will use every ounce of that experience to open the performance with musical gusto and crisp drill. They will not only lead the way out on to the track, but also carry the honoured flags of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the five other members of the Gulf Co-operation Council – Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – together with the flags of Formula One and its organizing body, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile.

Following the Police Band will come the Arabic dance troupe Jollanar whose performance is a fusion from countries around the Gulf in keeping with the spirit of the GCC and the global orientation of Bahrain. They will be followed by one of Bahrain’s own most traditional acts: the 60 beautiful ladies of the Bahrain Dance Group in traditional nashall dresses, performing dances drawn from deep within Bahrain’s rich culture. The traditional music has been specially arranged in a modern style by the renowned composer Khalifa Zaman.

Finally three beautiful floats representing the cornerstones of Bahraini life and heritage – the Dhow, the Pearl and the Souk – will take centre stage with Bahraini children on board. Here the spectacular show will close with Mohammed Al Bakri singing ‘Beautiful Days’, the song with which he was a worthy winner of the 2004 Song Festival for Best Composer, Best Performance and Best Lyrics… on a very beautiful day for the Kingdom of Bahrain.