50 paragliders to take part in festival for National Day

More than 50 paragliders drawn from different parts of Oman will take part in a festival to be held in commemoration of the sul

tanate’s 52nd National Day, in Al Swadi area of Barka on Saturday.

The Dhahirah Hobby Team, in cooperation with the Royal Oman Police, will hold this oneday festival organising events for all sections of the society.

“The one-day festival will include various activities such as consumer exhibitions for families and entertainment shows for children. It will also include kayaking and horse shows and parachute jumps,” said Khalid Rashid al Kalbani, head of the Dhahirah Hobby Team of the Ibri

Club. Participation of paragliders in the festival will be an added attraction, he informed.

Kalbani told Muscat Daily that the team has the youngest glider pilot in the Arab world - his 13year-old son Rashid bin Khalid al Kalbani and his daughter Raghad (11), one of the youngest female

glider pilots in the world.

“Both of them will take part in the festival.”

The paragliders will perform group shows to celebrate the 52nd National Day. The activities of the festival will be held from 3.30pm to 5.30pm, he added.

Paragliding is a recreational sport activity based on the use of a machine called ‘glider’ to fly in the open air for varying distances.

“We aim to encourage youth to develop skills to fly gliders,

paraglide, indulge in wireless flying, wireless cars and photography,” Kalbani said, while speaking about the purpose behind the activities chosen for the festival.

“Our team also organises an annual event for paragliding and drone displays,” he informed, as

suring that the team would continue to hold paragliding events in the sultanate to spread the hobby among youth and promote tourism in Oman.

Kalbani expects a large crowd at the festival as it will have

something or the other for all members of society.

“We thank Omantv, which agreed to document the event.”