Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani waving to a huge crowd after attending the Qatar National Day parade on the Corniche, yesterday.
Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Father Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani attended the 10th National parade, which was held yesterday afternoon at Doha Corniche.
The National Parade was also attended by H E Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Khalifa Al Thani; H H Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani, Personal Representative of the Emir; H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani; H H Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Thani; H E Sheikh Jassim bin Khalifa Al Thani and Their Excellencies sons of H H the Father Emir.
The Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani and Speaker of the Advisory Council H E Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud also attended the Parade along with a number of Their Excellencies Sheikhs; Ministers; esteemed guests of the country; members of the Advisory Council; heads of diplomatic missions accredited to the State and number of senior officers of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Interior, as well as dignitaries and scores of citizens and residents. As many as 1,400 students from different schools participated in the welcoming of the Emir on his arrival at the venue.
The show began with the national anthem followed by recitation of verses from the Holy Quran. Eighteen artillery rounds were then fired to mark the national day of the state.
Thousands of citizens and expatriates had gathered along the Corniche hours before the start of the National Day parade with their families to celebrate Qatar National Day and to express solidarity and unity with Qatar and its leadership.
The people’s enthusiasm in marking Qatar National Day was spectacular as they spent many hours at the Corniche without showing any signs of tiredness and boredom. Every single person was in cheerful mood and enjoyed every single moment spent there to celebrate the festivities.
“We came here at 11am in the morning though the National Parade is to start at 3pm so that we can secure the best place to view the whole show. We are not tired rather our enthusiasm is increasing with the passage of time. It is our love and sense of solidarity with Qatar – our present home – which brought us here to attend and enjoy the Qatar National Day celebrations,” said Mohamed Idress, an expat from India.
Thousands of people gathered at the Corniche to attend the National Day activity were dressed in attire reflecting their love and gratitude to Qatar.
A number of Qatari children were wearing military uniforms to express their respect for country and its Armed Forces while girls were dressed in white and maroon frocks – the colours of Qatari flag.
If some people were showing their love with Qatar with a hat or scarf bearing Qatari flag then others were expressing their affection towards Qatar through T-shirts having iconic Tamim Al Majd image. A large number of people were carrying pictures of H H the Emir.
Thousands of people lined along the Corniche to watch the spectacular National Parade as all seats were filled to their capacity. They kept on taking photos with marching troops and armored vehicles in the background. Representation of all nationalities was there from Asia to Europe and Africa to Australia.
The parade’s grandeur was multiplied with aerial displays of various types of warplanes, combat, helicopter, reconnaissance, transport and cargo aircraft followed by Emiri Cavalry and Camel Corps of the Emiri Guard and the Guards of Honour.
The parade led by the Flag of the State of Qatar followed by lines of infantry factions of the Armed Forces with their vehicles, special forces, the Interior Ministry infantry with their vehicles, Civil Defence with their vehicles and the Internal Security Forces “Lekhwiya” with their vehicles in addition to a show of modern armored vehicles and military equipment. The Parade also included a maritime show featuring striking boats, modern naval vessels and classic cars.
Mohammad Jassim, a Qatari national who was attending the grand show with his family said that this year Qatar National Day was special due to unjust siege imposed on Qatar. “Now our opponents have seen how much we are united and loyal to our leadership. The siege has boosted our unity,” he said, adding that he and his family was waiting for the National Parade since the beginning of December as last year the parade was cancelled to express solidarity with Aleppo victims.
Following the parade a show team performed different forms of individual and group skydiving featuring the Flag of the State of Qatar.
The National Parade saw participation of all the Armed Forces’ land, air and naval units, as well as the Ministry of Interior’s Civil Defence Force, Coasts and Borders Security, Traffic and Police College along with National Service cadets and a group of school students in military uniforms.
All segments of the National Parade enthralled the audience but the immaculate displays of aerobatics and paragliding won crowd’s special applause. “This paragliding show is marvelous,” said Juriz a Filipino expat who had come to watch the National Parade and aerobatics along his colleagues.
He said that they were celebrating Qatar National Day for the last ten days by attending various activities at Katara and Darb Al Saai. “Today we all, citizens and residents, have shown the siege countries that we have defeated their moves,” he added.
Among a variety of other colours, the show at the Corniche also bore reflection of Qatari heritage as a good number of Qatari men at the venue were carrying traditional swords to display their emotional attachment with their cultural heritage.
Despite the end of the National Day parade, the crowd did not leave the Corniche as they waited for dazzling display of fireworks which started at 8pm and enthralled the people the most.
