Record-breaking flower power carpets Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu festival

MADINAH: More than a million visitors are expected to attend the 24-day Yanbu Flower and Garden Festival, which opened on Thursday, and view the largest flower carpet in the world.
Already, in the first three days since opening, there have been 110,000 visitors to the largest flower festival in the Kingdom on the Red Sea coast.
Saleh Al-Zahrani, director of the Operation and Maintenance Department at the Royal Commission for Yanbu, said this year a flower tapestry using thousands of different colored blooms have been used to represent hills, which spread over 45,000 square meters.
Al-Zahrani said that Saudi Arabia regained world record for the largest carpet of flowers. “Reclaiming its title from 2014, the carpet of flowers spreads over an area of 16,300 square meters. Entering the Guinness Book of Records further motivated us to move forward so as to be recognized on the world scene of flower festivals,” he added.
In addition to providing beautiful displays, the festival, organized by the Royal Commission for Yanbu, aims to allow people to be environmentally aware of different plants and flowers and how to grow them.
Twenty-six artists from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Georgia, and France will be taking part in the competition to paint a picture of the Saudi team’s participation in 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.
“We appreciate the authorities arranging such a wonderful show,” said visitor Nasser Al Juhani. “They have created more space so that it will not look overcrowded and delivered a unique kind of recreational activity for the residents of the region.”