Hussein Hazzazi Okaz/Saudi Gazette The 24-day 35th Jeddah Ghair festival got off to a spectacular start here on Thursday evening with a dazzling display of fireworks beautifying the city's skies for over half an hour and breathtaking folklore performances mesmerizing and captivating the spectators. Inaugurating the event, launched under the slogan “It's high time to do it”, Governor Prince Mishal Bin Majed said he fully supports youth in the governorate and asked them to be innovative in their approach and thinking. Over 100 sports, entertainment and cultural activities, including mesmerizing fireworks shows, will target families and youth, while prizes worth SR3 million and 15 cars will be distributed to selected winners. There are also thousands of non-cash prizes that will be distributed to visitors. The festival's organizing committee said Corniche goers should expect eight shows full of excitement throughout the festival period. Adnan Mandourah, secretary general of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), said firework shows have never failed to attract people for the last 16 years, when the first festival was launched. “These shows have become the main feature of the festival. This year, the shows will be held in Al-Nawrus Square and North Ubhur,” Mandoura said while adding that many surprises are in store for visitors. Mazin Batarji, deputy chairman of JCCI, said the festival is expecting 3 million visitors this year. Children and families can participate in different contests and attend folklore shows. Over 1,500 businesses in 360 malls are offering major discounts. The festival is expected to generate revenues in excess of SR3 billion. “Of course, this year we won't have any music concerts out of respect for conflict-stricken neighboring countries. We had to remove the music segments from the agenda,” he said. However, we are keen to present visitors with the best services that befit Jeddah as a tourist attraction,” said Batarji. Muhammad Al-Amri, executive director of Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) said over 7,000 hotel rooms and 25,000 residential units have been earmarked to welcome visitors to Jeddah. The SCTA's inspectors will conduct surprise inspection visits to all tourist accommodation facilities to make sure that instructions and regulations have been complied with. Maj. Gen. Waslallah Al-Harbi, Jeddah Traffic Police chief, said this year's traffic plan focuses on increasing the presence of traffic police at vital locations such as the Corniche area, Al-Madinah Road and King Abdulaziz Road. “We'll make sure that buses transporting Umrah performers to Makkah and Madinah do so as easily and smoothly as possible. Dozens of officers have been dispatched to several locations on the Jeddah-Makkah Expressway for the purpose,” he said.
