The British Museum became a corner of Saudi Arabia on Wednesday evening, when a special iftar took place to welcome the athletes representing Saudi Arabia at the 30th London Olympics.
Ambassador Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf Al Saud and Prince Nawaf bin Faisal bin Fahd, president of the Saudi Arabian National Olympic Committee and head of the Saudi delegation to the 30th Olympic Games “London 2012” jointly hosted the celebration. The athletes included the final selection of riders, Ramzi Al Duhami, Kamal Bahamdan, Abdullah Sharbatly and HRH Prince Abdullah bin Miteb, of the Saudi equestrian show jumping team.
The British Museum Great Hall where the Iftar took place was a particularly appropriate venue for the reception as the central Reading Room is currently hosting an exhibition ‘The Horse: from Arabia to Royal Ascot’ which is supported by The Saudi Equestrian Fund. The specially invited guests were treated to a private view of the exhibition before prayer and iftar.
Addressing more than 300 guests after their private viewing of the exhibition Prince Mohammed said, “This is the 10th Olympics that Saudi Arabia has participated in and I am immensely proud of the 19 athletes, men and women, who have come here this year prepared to compete for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in this extraordinary feast of sportsmanship”.
The ambassador reminded guests that The Prophet Mohammed was a strong believer in the benefits of sport and enjoined Muslims to, “teach your children, archery, swimming and horse riding”.
“We will be showing some of those horse riding skills at the Olympics later this week – as well as other Olympic athletic skills”.
The Equestrian Team starts its campaign for medals at the games tomorrow at the Equestrian Center in Greenwich Park.
Referring to the exhibition, Prince Mohammed said “We can remember today that it is these skills on horseback that helped to reunite our country under King Abdulaziz less than a century ago.”
Prince Mohammed spoke of the spirit of the modern Olympics as “having a sense of real commitment, real dedication to what you believe in. Not looking at the outcome of that dedication but being committed to the journey,” adding that the month of Ramadan “reminds us even more strongly of that commitment and demands our dedication.”
The ambassador concluded that the most important message of the Olympics is the message of peace and equality. “This vision of the world community coming together, not so much to compete but to celebrate what unites us rather than what divides us.”
