SCTDA To Celebrate Sharjah Light Festival
The Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) has announced the fourth edition of the Sharjah Light Festival, to take place from 6 to 14 February, 2014 at 12 locations across the Emirate.
The announcement was made at a press conference last evening (Monday) at Al Majaz Waterfront in the presence of a number of senior Sharjah government figures, festival partners and media. The festival will be held under the vision and leadership of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah.
The Sharjah Light Festival, the first and largest of its kind in the Middle East, is a landmark global event highlighting Emirati, Arabic and Islamic culture. The event features highly talented international artists and performers who use the magic of lighting and cutting-edge technology to narrate the story of Sharjah’s heritage and architecture. This year, the festival will be celebrated under the theme of Sharjah, the Capital of Islamic Culture for 2014.
Speaking on the occasion, HE Mohamed Ali Al Noman, Chairman, Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority, said that the Sharjah Light Festival once again returns to celebrate and turn the spotlight on the beauty and majesty of the Emirate’s architectural grandeur and monuments.
He said: “For nine glorious nights, the Emirate of Sharjah will wear a new robe of exquisite beauty decorated with the best of oriental art and colours, celebrating Sharjah’s Islamic civilization and the legacy of our ancestors.”
Al Noman said that, this year Sharjah Light Festival will be an even richer and greater experience in its splendour of presentations and designs in 12 different locations—nine of them in Sharjah City, starting with the opening ceremony at Sharjah Municipality’s grand new building that celebrates the best of Islamic architecture and heritage--and three locations on the East Coast.
This year, a new site in Dibba Al Hisn, joins the SLF festivities along with Khorfakkan and Kalba on the East Coast in a symphony of lights, colours and melodious motifs to celebrate the theme of Sharjah, the Capital of Islamic Culture. Every year we have been trying to add new locations to SLF celebrations in order to cover the length and breadth of the Emirate.
This year’s SLF highlights also include a spectacular hour-long parade that will start at the Flag Island and cover the expanse of Khalid Lagoon before leading to the Central Souq. It will be followed by another hour of an entertainment fiesta with popular fictional characters which will transport visitors to a world of art, fantasy and humour, he said.
Also, this year three new sites in Sharjah city have been added to the SLF celebrations. They include Dr Sheikh Sultan Al Qasimi Centre of Gulf Studies, the new building of Sharjah Municipality, where the opening ceremony will be held, and the iconic King Faisal Mosque.
Sharing the details of the exciting SLF pageantry, Al Noman said: “From 6th to 14th February, 2014, Sharjah will witness the spectacular experience of the Light Festival with its rich civilizational heritage, art and culture being interwoven with the splendour of its grand Arabian architecture and monuments.”
The aesthetic beauty of centuries-old Islamic calligraphy, poetry, maps and art and intricate decorated plants and flowers representing another ancient Islamic art will be celebrated at the Festival, in order to bring out the finer detail of Sharjah’s majestic monuments and fine architecture, he added.
Al Noman said that the SCTDA has been constantly striving to promote the tourism sector in the Emirate to its highest potential and strengthen Sharjah’s position on the world map as a host of great international festivals and events.
Since its debut, the Sharjah Light Festival has been a grand success attracting tens of thousands of families and visitors year after year. With the addition of new sites and several new features and presentations, this year promises to be even more special, emphasised Al Noman.
“The Festival of Lights will once again celebrate and enhance the diversity of Sharjah’s Arab and Islamic heritage and architecture. Sharjah’s popular landmarks and touristic sites will be seen in a new light with specially designed shows using latest techniques in lighting, graphics and 3-D technology. It will be an experience that will take the spectators to a magical world of fantasy and creativity,” he said.
SLF 2014 sites include Sharjah Municipality, Kuwait Square, Cultural Palace Square, King Faisal Mosque, Al Majaz Mosque, Al Majaz Waterfront, Central Souk, Al Qasba (Internal façade), Dr Sheikh Sultan Al Qasimi Centre of Gulf Studies, Hamza Bin Abdul Mottaleb Mosque in Kalba, and Omar Bin Al Khattab Mosque in Khorfakkan.
For nine nights, the SLF turns the spotlight on Sharjah’s landmarks and monuments, transforming their facades with a breath-taking interplay of lights, colours and artistic imagery that will celebrate the Islamic civilization, heritage and history of the Emirate and the region. The performances will be held every night from 7pm to 11pm on weekdays and until midnight on weekends.
The SCTDA Chairman thanked all the SLF 2014 partners, sponsors and members of media for their support to the Festival and all Sharjah events and activities.
The press conference was attended by the SLF event partners and sponsors that included Sharjah Municipality, Sharjah Transport, Sharjah Police, Shurooq (Sharjah Investment and Development Authority), Sharjah Public Works Department, Sharjah Civil Defence, SEWA (Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority), Zulal Water; media sponsors Al Khaleej, Sharjah Media Corporation and Channel 4 FM.
The Sharjah Light Festival was first hosted by the SCTDA four years ago and it has been hugely successful and popular attracting more than 200,000 spectators as well as regional and international media attention.
Emirate: Sharjah
Date: Jan 28, 2014
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