KUWAIT CITY, Jan 29: The Hala February Festival 2010 begun on Friday, Jan 29, with the slogan ‘Kuwait for Her Lovers’, which depicts the love for Kuwait and the Amir. Thousands of citizens and expatriates participated in the carnival which brings joy to people and puts smiles on the faces of the families, among the number of children who attended the six-hour event. Other variety of activities marking the festival will continue for the next few weeks. The festival is known for the wonderful way it is organized and the high number of participants it witnesses.

Besides, other Arab and foreign countries which take part in the event form the basis of the peculiarity the carnival enjoys, amid the procession along the Souk Sharq seaside, with national songs from all angles. The activity commenced with emergence of an enormous Kuwaiti flag, which a number of boy scouts held, amid arcade of motorbikes and vehicles following it. The event saw the presence of caricatures of lovable personalities, which amused children and their parents, while they exchanged pleasantries with those personalities.

Several NGOs, as well as talented sport and artistic personalities added value to the occasion. The attendance included notable popular bands and artistes from the GCC nations, who performed and presented drawings of their countries’ cultural heritage and the level of relations with Kuwait, in addition to performances by international bands. Apart from the trekking and car procession, a group of ancient yachts and ships emerged from the Yacht Club holding Kuwaiti flags and pictures of the Amir and the Crown Prince, with firefighters from the Directorate General for Fire Services presenting a sea performance.


The second phase of the procession, which began from Souk Sharq, involved the participation of students from the Ministry of Education, Health Ministry, Association of Engineers, doctors, scouts and NGOs. There was conspicuous presence of security officers at strategic locations to maintain law and order and the traffic officers took charge of traffic control along the Gulf Road and ensured free flow of vehicular movement.


The Assistant Undersecretary for Public Security and Chairperson of the Security Committee Major General Khalil Al-Shamali personally supervised the activities and affirmed success in that regard. He noted preparation for security control at the inauguration ceremony this year is extraordinary, because it has been transferred from Salem Al-Mubarak Street to the Gulf Road. He indicated officers from the Capital Command collaborated with the concerned security organs such as detectives, patrol teams and traffic officers, to be on standby along Souk Sharq area, ahead of the inauguration. “The officers effectively controlled the activities without report of any untoward incidents,” the Public Security Chief enthused.