President of the Supreme Council of Youth and Sports and Chairman of the Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al-Khalifa lit the first flame marking the start of the Bahrain 11 torch relay on Thursday at an event held at the Bahrain 11 Village in Al Fateh Corniche.
Shaikh Nasser also inaugurated the Bahrain 11 Village, the official Bahrain 11 fan and entertainment zone, featuring a wide range of free exciting and interactive entertainment events and activities for the public to take part in and enjoy.
Following the opening of the Bahrain 11 Village and the lighting ceremony, a press conference was held by Chief Executive Officer of the BOC and President of the Bahrain 11 Executive Committee Shaikh Khalid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa and Secretary General of BOC and Vice-President of the Bahrain 11 Executive Committee Shaikh Ahmed bin Hamad Al Khalifa who previewed the torch relay and the opening ceremony of the Games.
The torch relay is set to commence on Friday (October 7th) at Bab Al Bahrain in the Capital Governorate.
The torch will make its way over the course of the following four days across each of the Kingdom’s four other governorates, starting from the Muharraq Governorate (October 8th), followed by the Northern Governorate (October 9th) and the Central Governorate (October 10th).
The relay will end at the Southern Governorate (October 11th) in time for the Bahrain 11 official opening ceremony at the Bahrain National Stadium, held under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa where the main cauldron will be lit marking the official commencement of the Games.
Each governorate will have 30 individual relay legs where the cauldron will be ceremonially lit and extinguished by the respective governorate dignitaries at the start and end of each relay. The opening ceremony is set to feature several spectacular surprises, and will be attended by senior government dignitaries, sportspeople, observers, and sport fans from across the GCC.
Also on the panel were Khalid Al-Doseri, Chairman of Netizen, the official Communication and Commercial Partner of Bahrain 11, who spoke in more detail about the Bahrain 11 Village.
He explained that it has been created to capture the excitement and cheer of the upcoming Games, and will prove a great day out for families and general members of the public.
The Village will feature a range of unique events and activities, including a gaming zone equipped with Wii and X Box consoles, an extreme sports zone featuring fire jugglers and football freestylers, professional walkabout entertainers, an outdoor theatre, food stalls, a human foosball game in addition to a high end VIP tent and sports Gallery among other exciting activities and games.
An exclusive line-up of acrobatic, music and stand-up comedy shows will also take place alongside the activities for people of all ages to enjoy.
Bahrain 11, scheduled to take place from 11 – 22 of October, will feature over 1,500 athletes from all GCC member nations who will compete in 10 sporting disciplines. The games will be held in 9 venues across Bahrain, and the featured sports are football, basketball, volleyball, handball, athletics (track and field), swimming, cycling, bowling, in addition to goal ball and table tennis for women.