The spirit of unity, pride, loyalty and resolve to work for the glory of the country under the wise leadership of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Father Amir His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani was evident throughout.
This year, the National Day was celebrated under the slogan ‘Al Maali Kaydah’, which means the path of excellence is difficult.
The slogan is inspired by a poem by Qatar’s Founder Sheikh Jassim bin Mohamed bin Thani, in which he talked about his martyr son Sheikh Joaan. The slogan expresses the faith of successive generations of Qatari youth, that the path to excellence is difficult, and to reach it one will need morality and science.
The Doha Corniche hosted the National Day parade, the highlight of the celebrations, from 9.30am. Various other attractions were also lined up at different venues.
People with the national flags reached the site early. Men, women young and old as well as children sang the national anthem in unison and could be seen celebrating the occasion amid a festive atmosphere.
Screens installed at different locations along the Corniche enabled them to follow the parade.
Meanwhile, the organising committee of the Associated Activities of Qatar National Day 2019 celebrations hosted a flurry of mega cultural, musical and sports events to mark the day. The events were held at different venues in collaboration with Asian communities, companies and Asian schools in Qatar.
Multiple activities and events also took place at Darb Al Saai, Katara – the Cultural Village, Souq Waqif and other places.
The weather conditions did not hamper the spirit of joy.
Corniche shone with a Qatari flag composed of 250,000 flower plants in front of the main podium for the celebration of the day on the Corniche — an idea conceived by the Public Parks Department at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment.
The flag spanning an area of about 2,000 square metres was made of flowers 110 square metres in length and 18 metres in width. The 250,000 flower plants of Petunia comprised 90,000 white flowers and 160,000 burgundy coloured flowers.
The Department also set up 20 flower towers and 130 hanging flowers along the Corniche Road, and decorated a number of other major venues like Darb Al Saai and Katara Cultural Village.
The Ministry of Interior, in association with the Organising Committee of the Qatar National Day, also lined up a host of cultural and entertainment activities for expatriate communities at locations across the country.
The venues included Wakrah Sports Club, Barwa Al Baraha, Asian Accommodation, Asian Town, Cricket Stadium, Lusail Sports City, Barwa Workers Complex, Doha Stadium, Mukainis Barwa Village, Shahaniya, and Sri Lankan School.
In line with its practice of celebrating along with countries in a specific region, Google joined Qatar National Day celebrations with a doodle of the Qatar’s flag featured on its homepage. Only visible in Qatar, the doodle showed a gif of Qatar flag against the background of a rising sun.
