Sri Lankan New Year Festival 2019 was successfully held in Dubai on 12th April 2019

• Participation of over 20,000 Sri Lankans and non- Sri Lankans under the flag of Sri Lanka
• A number of non- Sri Lankans actively engaged in New Year Games
• Special “UAE- Sri Lanka Run of 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 of UAE to the Consulate General of Sri Lanka in recognition of its contribution towards the initiative of tolerance

Zabeel Park Dubai was crowded with over 20,000 Sri Lankans and the other nationals under the flag of Sri Lanka on Friday 12^th April 2019, in celebration of the Sri Lankan New Year Festival 2019, organized by the Consulate General of Sri Lanka, along with the Sri Lankan community living in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, as a whole day event.

Other than the traditional games and events of an average New Year Festival, this event was consisted of several unique features such as free medical and dental camps, free spectacle donation camp, free legal advice camp, Foreign Employment related advice camp run by the Consulate General of Sri Lanka to Dubai & Northern Emirates, a blood donation camp and much more. The traditional Sri Lankan New Year games were kept open to both Sri Lankans and the other nationals with the intention of including all the nationalities in celebration of the joy of Sri Lankan New Year under one flag. In display of a keen interest in sharing the festive fun, the sight of large number of non-Sri Lankans actively taking part of the games was an interesting sight throughout the event.

The event kicked off with the “UAE- Sri Lanka Run of Tolerance” which was dedicated to the “Year of Tolerance” initiative declared by the Government of UAE in 2019. Comprising of several nationalities including the Chinese, Filipinos, Pakistanis, Indians, Italians, Kenyans and the Sri Lankans, the “UAE- Sri Lanka Run of Tolerance” was intended to make the UAE’s initiative of Tolerance more meaningful. Hence, representing Sri Lanka, the Consul General Charitha Yattogoda and representing the UAE Government, a representative of the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department flagged off the run.

The event thereafter officially commenced with the multi-religious ceremony. Representing four (04) major religions of Sri Lanka, the religious leaders invoked blessings on the organizing committee of the event, for its successful execution.

Thereafter, in a symbolic act of “going-home” during the New Year in Sri Lanka, the Consul General, along with the organizing committee members, the community present at the event and the invitees made a brief visit to the traditional village house (Gama Gedera) built at the venue, where special refreshments were served including traditional sweets such as oil cakes prepared in the house at the same time demonstrating the way of making those sweets and drinks to welcome the guests.

A large number of traditional games were kept open for both Sri Lankans and the other nationals to participate during the day and the winners were given exclusive prizes which included air tickets to Sri Lanka, mobile phones, expensive home décor items, sound bars ,high-end TVs, a number of consolation prizes and etc.

In addition, a special tourism zone was set up at the event where the non- Sri Lankans were given the opportunity to snap selfies and upload them in Instagram. The persons who got the highest number of likes were able to receive exclusive gifts including hotel stays in Sri Lanka worth over US$ 1000 and two (02) 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 participants to taste a sip of Ceylon tea. The participants also had the chance to enjoy the Sri Lankan food sold at the venue by the Sri Lankan restaurants present at the event.

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 the non- Sri Lankans with the exclusive opportunity of indulging in a Sri Lankan traditional oil massage.

Moreover, the event was open to a number of Sri Lankan and non- Sri Lankan companies to set up the stalls on sponsorship basis and to promote their products among the vast number of people at the park.

Towards the evening of the day, a special “tug- of-war” competition held among the Staff and their family members of six (06) Consulates General based in Dubai, including Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan, South Africa, and Sri Lanka was a major highlight of the event done in friendly spirit. Some of the participating teams were led by the Consuls General themselves. The finals were held between China and Pakistan and the Pakistani team became the winners of the game receiving exclusive prizes sponsored by a leading UAE company.

The end of the New Year games was followed by the official opening ceremony to start 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 Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department, Mr. Asiri Wickramasuriya, Sri Lankan Airlines Country Manager to UAE and  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 representing main sponsors in addition to four (04) community leaders representing Sinhala, Hindu, Muslim and Burgher communities.

In recognition of the efforts of the Consulate General of Sri Lanka towards the initiative of tolerance, Mr. Fayaz Abdullah Almarzooqi handed over a special memento and a certificate of the Department of Mohommad Bin Rashid for Islamic Culture to the Consul General Charitha Yattogoda, amidst the applauds of the massive crowd.

Additionally, all the Dubai Government institutes including Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Dubai Municipality, Dubai Police, Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), Dubai Civil Defence, Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services and the Department of Mohommad Bin Rashid for Islamic Culture have given their fullest support to the smooth functioning of the event. The Dubai Police had also taken steps to keep some of the high-end vehicles of their fleet as a major attraction to the crowd in the event.

The event was concluded with an enthralling traditional cultural performance performed at the 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, sustaining the interest of the crowd until the end of the event.

This event was open to all entrants “Free of Charge basis” owing to the expenses being borne by the Sponsors. Mobitel, a leading mobile phone service operator based in Sri Lanka joined as the Key sponsor in this event in the platinum category and Frico International LLC, based in the UAE, joined the event in the Gold category as a sponsor. Additionally, the other sponsors joined in the corporate category included 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 (SLRC) – the National Television of Sri Lanka, joined as the exclusive electronic Media partner, and will telecast the highlights of the event as a two-hour programme in the channel.

Consulate General of Sri Lanka

Dubai & Northern Emirates

17^th April 2019