Attended by  Her Majesty the Queen, this event also played host to the launch of BMG Foundation’s latest conservation initiative ‘Our Water, Our Life’ in the presence of Hazem Malhas, Jordan’s minister of environment. 

Once again, the onlookers assembled on the bleachers in the glorious English weather were mesmerized by the pace and energy of this majestic game.

Attended by a crowd of international business icons, celebrities and royalty, the event was a resounding success with the friendly match between the Guards’ team and the GCC team ending in an 8-3 victory for the home side.

This year’s spectacular event heralded one of the most important and critical projects that the BMG Foundation has embarked upon in its history.  Hailing from a region that continues to face water shortages and will continue to do so in the future,  Basil Al Ghalayini, chairman and driving force behind the BMG Foundation, spoke about his motivation for addressing this crucial issue.

“As you are well aware, over the past 14 years, the BMG Foundation has aimed to give something back to the community. Traditionally, we have done this through cultural enhancement programs, providing a platform for the dialogue between civilizations and of course, our support of leading global charities.

This year however, we decided that as responsible corporate citizens our efforts need to be more directed at the environment and what better way could this be tackled than by addressing an issue that affects not just us, but future generations to come?”

Malhas gave his personal endorsement to this pioneering scheme on water conservation stating,

“The battle for achieving sustainable development will be won or lost at the local level. Community action and mobilization is an essential element in sustainability.”

He also congratulated and commended Al Ghalayini and his team for their forward-mindedness in creating a program that not only generates public awareness, but aims to engage the vibrant minds of the Arab youth to create the most innovative and cost efficient campaigns to promote water conservation.

The competition will commence in July and run till the end of November 2010, allowing the participants adequate time to design and submit their most ingenious awareness campaign. 

Al Ghalayini thanked and applauded this year’s sponsors for their commitment towards the foundation and the invaluable support they had extended.

Trophies were presented to representatives from: Evonik Industries, Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors,Saudi Research & Marketing Group, Credit Suisse, Atheeb Group, BMG Financial Group, Ithraa Capital, Zedan Group, Akar One, Al Joman for Environmental Care, Athbah Stud, BTL Creative Atelier, Crystal Arc, Arab News, Asharq Al Awsat and Al Eqtisadiah.