- Sri Lankans and non- Sri Lankans participate with great fervour under the flag of Sri Lanka.
- A number of non- Sri Lankans actively engaged in New Year games.
- Special “UAE- Sri Lanka Run For Tolerance” organized to mark the Year of Tolerance declared by UAE Government.
- A tug-of-war game organized exclusively for staff and the family members of foreign Consulates General based in Dubai.
- A special memento was given by the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department in Dubai to the Consulate General of Sri Lanka in recognition of its contribution towards UAE’s Year of Tolerance.
DUBAI, April 2019: More than 20,000 Sri Lankans and people from other nationalities thronged the Mega Bowl at Zabeel Park in Dubai under the flag of Sri Lanka on Friday 12th April 2019, to celebrate the Sri Lankan New Year Festival 2019, organized by the Consulate General of Sri Lanka, along with the Sri Lankan community in Dubai and the Northern Emirates.
Other than the usual traditional games and events that make up a Sri Lankan New Year Festival, this event consisted of several unique features such as free medical and dental camps, a free spectacle donation camp, free legal advice camp, free counsel on foreign employment at a camp run by the Consulate General of Sri Lanka for Dubai and the Northern Emirates, a blood donation camp, and much more. Besides, not just Sri Lankans but also other nationals were invited to participate in the traditional New Year games with the intention of providing people from different cultural backgrounds and nationalities the opportunity to celebrate the joyous occasion.
The event kicked off with the “UAE- Sri Lanka Run For Tolerance” which was dedicated to the “Year of Tolerance” initiative declared by the Government of UAE in 2019. Comprising runners from several nationalities the “UAE-Sri Lanka Run For Tolerance” was intended to show Sri Lanka’s support towards UAE’s tolerance initiative and make it more meaningful. Hence, the run was flagged off by the Consul General, Charitha Yattogoda, representing Sri Lanka, and a representative of the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department, on behalf of the UAE government.
Commenting on the festival, His Excellency, Mr. Charitha Yattogoda, Consul General of Sri Lanka for Dubai and Northern Emirates, told Global Sri Lankan: “I am overwhelmed by the huge response to our event, and this is seen by the enthusiastic participation of not only Sri Lankans but also nationals from many other countries. Significantly, I am proud of and appreciate the fact that with this being the Year of Tolerance in the UAE, the Sri Lankan community in this country came out in full force to showcase their commitment to supporting and celebrating cultural unity and understanding at this event in Dubai, which itself is a global icon of multiculturalism.
“As one of the biggest ever gatherings of Sri Lankans in this part of the world, the festival also provided a wonderful opportunity for non-Sri Lankans to get an insight into our traditions and experience the fantastic hospitality that we Sri Lankans are known for. We are confident that our unique Run For Tolerance and other activities held during the event will also go a long way towards further enhancing the bilateral relations between the UAE and Sri Lanka,” Mr. Yattogoda added.
The event officially commenced with a multi-religious ceremony conducted by religious leaders representing the four major religions of Sri Lanka. Thereafter, in a symbolic act of “going home” during the New Year in Sri Lanka, the Consul General, along with the organising committee members, the community members present at the event and the invitees made a brief visit to the traditional village house (Gama Gedera) built at the venue. The guests were served special refreshments including traditional sweets such as oil cakes prepared in the house, and at the same time a demonstration was done to show how the sweets are prepared.
A number of traditional games were open for both Sri Lankans and people from other nationals, enabling them to participate and win fabulous prizes including return air tickets to Sri Lanka, mobile phones, luxury home décor items, sound bars, high-end TVs, and many consolation prizes.
In addition, a special tourism zone was set up at the event with an exciting competition providing non- Sri Lankans the opportunity to snap selfies and upload them to Instagram. The participants who received the most number of Likes were able to receive exclusive gifts including hotel stays in Sri Lanka worth over US$ 1000 and two return air tickets to Sri Lanka. The tourism zone also had a special counter of Sri Lanka Tea Board providing the opportunity for the non-Sri Lankan visitors to have a sip of Ceylon tea. In line with Sri Lanka’s initiative to promote wellness tourism, a special tent from the renowned Sen Wellness Spa was also established at the venue, providing non- Sri Lankans an exclusive opportunity to indulge in a Sri Lankan traditional oil massage. Moreover, a number of Sri Lankan and non-Sri Lankan companies were given the opportunity to set up their stalls at the event to promote their wide range of products to visitors. Visitors to the event also had the chance to enjoy delicious Sri Lankan cuisine at stalls run by Sri Lankan restaurants.
A diplomatic ”tug-of-war” with a difference was held in the evening. It was a “tug- of-war” competition featuring the staff of six Consulates General based in Dubai and their family members, including Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka. Some of the participating teams were led by the Consuls General themselves. The finals were held between China and Pakistan and the Pakistani team emerged winners and went on to receive fabulous prizes.
The end of the series of New Year games was followed by the official opening ceremony to kick off the cultural performances and prize giving ceremony. The traditional oil lamp was lit by the Charge d’ Affaires of Sri Lanka Embassy in Abu Dhabi Mr. A.S.Khan, Consul General of Dubai, Charitha Yattogoda, Mr. Fayaz Abdulla Almarzooqi on behalf of Dubai’s Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department, Mr. Asiri Wickramasuriya, Sri Lankan Airlines Country Manager to UAE, Mr. Nalin Perera, CEO of Mobitel, Mr. Gamini Kannangara, Managing Director of Frico LLC, Mr. E.M. Jayarathna, Deputy General Manager, Retail Banking of Bank of Ceylon, in addition to four community leaders representing Sinhala, Hindu, Muslim and Burgher communities.
In recognition of the efforts of the Consulate General of Sri Lanka towards the UAE’s Year of Tolerance, Mr. Fayaz Abdullah Almarzooqi handed over a special memento and a certificate from the Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Islamic Culture to the Consul General, Charitha Yattogoda, to the great delight and loud applause of the massive crowd.
Additionally, all the Dubai Government entities including Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dubai Municipality, Dubai Police, Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Dubai Civil Defence, Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services and Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Islamic Culture extended their full support to the smooth functioning of the event. In a wonderful gesture, Dubai Police also brought along the high-end vehicles in their fleet of cars to showcase as a major attraction at the event.
The free-to-attend event concluded with an enthralling traditional cultural performance performed on stage by Ranwala Balakaya, led by Mr. Sahan Ranwala together with the famous vocalists Mr. Saman Lenin and Ms. Nilakshi Halapitiya, especially flown in from Sri Lanka, who sustained the excitement interest of the crowd until the end of the event.
The festival had a number of sponsors including Mobitel, a leading mobile phone service operator based in Sri Lanka in the Platinum category and Frico International LLC, based in the UAE, in the Gold category. Additionally, there were several sponsors in the corporate category including RAK Bank, Bank of Ceylon, National Savings Bank of Sri Lanka, Dubai Duty Free, LuLu Group International, Al Ahalia Exchange and Al Ansari Exchange. On top of that, Sri Lankan Airlines joined the event as the official travel partner and Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation was the exclusive broadcast Media partner.
