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World's biggest flower carpet to be rolled out in Dubai

Dubai - Organisers of the event hope to complete the carpet in one hour.

The UAE is all set to roll out the world's biggest natural flower carpet today, as part of the National Festival of Tolerance and Human Fraternity.
Employing 5,000 volunteers from 150 nationalities, organisers of the event hope to complete the carpet in one hour; from 4pm onwards at Dubai Festival City.
Afra Al Sabri, director-general of the Minister of Tolerance Office, confirmed that the ministry has chosen a distinctive design for the flower carpet to deliver the message of the UAE heritage, in addition to the most important landmarks of the country, such as the Sheikh Zayed Mosque and Burj Khalifa.
A whopping 50 tonnes of flowers, imported from India, Kenya and other countries, will be used for this purpose, Anoop Anil Devan, general convenor of the event, told Khaleej Times. The event will take place in Festival City's outdoor parking area and UAE visitors and residents can check out the flower carpet until Sunday.
"After the carpet laying, a tolerance parade will be organised, where people of 150 nationalities will display dance and art forms from their countries. The flower carpet is going to be 100,000 square feet big. The carpet will use flowers of various colours. The design itself is confidential. It will depict the theme of tolerance and establish the UAE as the tolerance capital of the world," said Devan.
Two huge five-metre high ramps have been set up adjacent to the carpet, from where people can see it. "Following the carpet laying, there will be cultural programme as well. We are expecting a total of 100,000 people to attend the programme over the next three days," added Devan.
The carpet will be bigger than the area of two large football playgrounds. Al Sabri said:
"The carpet shall be drawn first on the ground, then the volunteers would arrange flowers according to their colours in the designated places under the supervision of a specialised team and in the presence of a committee of the Guinness World Records."
Al Sabri pointed out that the goal of the initiative, organised by the ministry in cooperation with a number of federal, local and private institutions, focuses on the promotion of a culture of tolerance, coexistence and harmony between the various UAE community groups. It sends a message to the world that all communities and different nationalities work in harmony and love here.
The event is organised by AKCAF, the fraternity of alumni from colleges across Kerala and Globerz Events for the Ministry of Tolerance.
dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com