I was there!!

Thanks to some very special last minute arrangements, I was able to take part in the National Day celebrations at the Stadium this morning!
I dressed up nicely (=covered up) and was ready to go very early this morning. I was escorted there and was seated in the big Stadium by 07.45.

The parade was supposed to start at 08.30, and I must say, everything was organized perfectly. The Crown Prince arrived at 08.10 and HM the Sultan arrived ten minutes later - at 08.30 on the dot it all started!

Some 25,000 people were involved in the celebration, including a huge amount of children/students along the driving-in route of the Royals, waving the flags.
It all started with a huge march-past with participants from the government, the private sector, non-government organizations, various associations and different educational institutions. There was over 100 different groups marching in on the field, just like in the Olympics.

After the very long march-past, there was the reading of the National Day oath - and then almost 5,000 volunteers were on the field performing, moving as a single body to form six various designs depicting the flow of development of the nation. It was quite impressive and really beautiful - but then they have been practising for months too!

I was very impressed with the whole arrangement, I'm really happy that I was able to take part in these celebrations!
(The internet is not cooperating at the moment, so I will be posting some photos tomorrow!)