National Day events lined up

Kingdomwide celebrations have been lined up to commemorate Saudi Arabia’s National Day beginning today.
The government closed all schools on Saturday and Sunday and the two days have been proclaimed public holidays for government employees.
Sunday has been declared public, bank and mercantile holiday to allow citizens and residents to celebrate the day.
The Ministry of Education has issued directives to all government schools to hold National Day celebrations in their respective institutions. Students will be celebrating for a week beginning Monday.
Governorates throughout the Kingdom would hold their respective celebrations while the state television and radio will broadcast programs.
McDonald’s Saudi Arabia, has organized National Day programs in prominent malls such as Riyadh’s Hayat and Panorama mall for children and families. The program,which is being held in association with Al-Hokair Amusement Parks, calls for children of all ages to come express their love and pride for the nation in the form of sketching drawings, writing essays and composing poems, on the Kids Rolls setup at various amusement parks.
Lots of additional entertainment have also been planned to bring joy to the hearts of the children. McDonald’s stars and mascots will be present at the event to paint children’s faces, take pictures and distribute gifts. Celebrities and public figures are also scheduled to show up for the celebrations.
The Riyadh municipality has arranged nine locations in the city for people to take part in the national day celebrations. Among the nine locations, three sites will be for men only, five for families and children and one for people with special needs. A special cultural program has been chalked out for the entertainment of the people. The locations are Prince Faisal bin Fahad Stadium in Malaz, Prince Sultan University, Park at the King Abbdulaziz Historical Center in Batha, Kindi Plaza at the Diplomatic Quarter, Erija Quarter and Al Marwan Center for the disabled.
Arrangements have also been made at the Kindi Plaza to distribute 5,000 national flags among visitors on a first-come-first-served basis. Besides the prominent poets, the events will also be attended by sports celebrities to entertain the audience.
For the convenience of the audience, large flat TV screens will also be installed to avoid the congestion of the crowd watching the live programs.