Dubai Opera is preparing for the opening ceremony of the inaugural Gulf Youth Games, to be held in the United Arab Emirates from 16 April to 2 May. The event will see 3,500 athletes compete in 25 individual and team sports. The opening ceremony on 16 April and will be attended by 1,500 people and will last 40 minutes with a variety of performances highlighting sustainability, unity and youth. 

The opening ceremony will be a creative celebration of the culture and heritage of the Gulf region. It will feature a variety of performances from up to six countries, including traditional dances, music and acrobatics. The latest technological advances will be used to try and build something impressive.

The opening ceremony will focus on sustainability, using sustainable materials and practices with the aim is to create a beautiful event that respects the environment. Young athletes from the six Gulf countries will be showcased. This will highlight the importance of sport in promoting physical and mental health.

The opening ceremony will be "a diverse and creative event that reflects the rich culture and heritage of the UAE and the Gulf region," said Fares Mohammed Al Mutawa, Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee, Vice-Chairman of the Supreme Organising Committee of the first Gulf Youth Games and Chairman of the Organising Committee. 

It will also showcase the development of the Olympic and sports movement in all GCC countries". The theme of the event is "Our Gulf is One... Our Youth is Promising".

Abdulaziz Al-Sulaiman, member of the Board of Directors of the National Olympic Committee and Chairman of the Heritage Committee and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies Committee, said: "The Opening Ceremony themes have been chosen to reflect the values and objectives of the event. The sustainability theme will highlight the importance of using sustainable materials.

"The Unity theme will celebrate the strong bonds of brotherhood between the peoples of the GCC. Sporting events serve as a platform to showcase this cohesion and togetherness. They promote principles such as respect, sportsmanship and fair play," added Al-Sulaiman.

Ibrahim Al Assam, a member of the board of directors of the National Olympic Committee and head of the media committee for the first Gulf Youth Games, confirmed that there was a plan to "promote, cover and disseminate information about the championship being organised by the UAE".

As Assam rightly points out: "Pre-approved media coverage started a month before the event to build excitement. "We are striving to implement the plan professionally to ensure its success and we have received a great response from all colleagues tasked with preparing news about the participating teams and sharing it through an interactive electronic newsletter.

"We are also using various social media channels to share news and promote the games. We are very confident that things are going well. We hope to achieve the best professional performance indicators in the next period as the countdown to the start of the event begins," he added.

Al Assam praised the smooth functioning of the Media Committee in the various tasks assigned to it and encouraged it to follow the news and preparations of the Gulf federations. The event values and consolidates the common visions of the GCC in integrating roles and programmes to enhance the sports system in the GCC countries and achieve the competitive aspirations of the Gulf youth.

Meanwhile, the UAE youth handball team continues its daily training at the Al Nahda Club Hall ahead of the inaugural Gulf Youth Games. Khamis Al Suwaidi, manager of the handball team, said: "The team has started the second phase of its preparations. He added that the team had played a friendly match against Al Bataeh and that there would be another friendly match against the Sharjah Youth Team. 

After a two-day break, the team will begin their third and final phase of preparation before the start of the competition. Al Suwaidi, who is in charge of the team, thanked Shabab Al Ahli Club for hosting the team's training sessions and the Board of Directors of the Handball Federation, chaired by Nabil Ashour, for providing all kinds of support to the team.

The latest squad of the youth team consists of Rashid Al Qars, Mohammed Al Mazmi, Masoud Al Yassi, Manaa Al Ketbi, Saed Al Ali, Mohammed Al Oud, Abdullah Al Obaidli, Ibrahim Al Ashar, Mansour Al Qars of Sharjah, Abdullah Al Falasi, Nawaf Khaled, Omar Shah, Moussa Al Aswad, Abdullah Al Badawi from Al Ahli, Jasim Al Nawabi, Hamdan Al Hesai, Ahmed Linjawi from Al Wasl, Al Hassan Al Shaddadi, Al Hussein Al Shaddadi and Abu Bakr Al Jabri from Al Jazeera.

The UAE youth bowling team continues its preparations. Ahmed Khamees Al Ali, the team's manager, revealed that the 'White Bowling Team' will conclude its preparations, which began in early February, with a ten-day in-house camp immediately after Eid Al Fitr at the Dubai International Bowling Centre, which will host the tournament.

The tournament will feature four teams including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and hosts the United Arab Emirates. Al Ali said: "During Ramadan, training sessions were held every day from 9 p.m. After Ramadan, training sessions will be in the morning and coach Ahmed Ateeq will focus on developing the accuracy element among the players."

"However, based on the preparations, our strongest rivals are the Qatar team, who organise many tournaments throughout the year, followed by the Saudi Arabian team and also the Bahrain team, who will have their say.

"I would like to point out that the tournament lost the Kuwaiti team, which did not register, and we expected their participation to increase the competitiveness.

The UAE youth bowling team has four key players: Rashid Ali Al Nawabi, Salem Badr Abdullah, Mohammed Hassan Al Firdan and Rashid Abdullah Al Marzouqi, in addition to two reserve players, and the names of the main players will be decided by the top four players in the team ranking at the Dubai Championship during Ramadan, which concluded its competitions on Friday 5 April.