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| National stadium on Prince Harry’s tour |
Fred Sturrup
Guardian Columnist/Sales Executive
Published: Feb 09, 2012
The efforts are still going on as the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture scrambles to get everything in place for an “official opening” of the new Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium, at some point this month or next month. Interestingly enough as the days go by in this month, it’s looking more and more like Prince Harry, the second son of Prince Charles, the heir to the British Throne, will be the one to first anoint the facility in a special way. According to an announcement sent out from St. James’s Palace, official residence of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Harry is scheduled to be in New Providence March 3-5. On his final day here, I understand that it is planned for him to greet hundreds of students at the new stadium. The Government of The Bahamas has thus been handed yet another gift. The view here is that all the plans for the “official opening” should be shelved (at least for the immediate future) and the visit of Prince Harry to the state-of-the-art structure should be used as a highlight. Pomp and pageantry can take place with Prince Harry as the focus. The stadium can be duly highlighted before the nation and indeed the world. By this combination of sorts, funding can be saved. I’m sure taxpayers in this country would welcome such a development. It would be a sound decision in these dire economic times. Glamor will surround the visit of Prince Harry. His presence will lend a certain enchantment to the country, for its people, in particular the thousands of students, some of whom might get an opportunity of a lifetime to individually meet the 27-year-old. He is participating in the Diamond Jubilee Tour of the Commonwealth. It will be his first royal tour, representing his grandmother, the queen. Prince Harry will go to Belize as the starting point of the Caribbean stint. Then, he heads this way, before leaving for Jamaica on the evening of March 5. Prince Harry presently ranks third in line for the throne of England, behind his father Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and older brother Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge. Officially his name is Henry Charles Albert David and he is Prince Henry of Wales, but known the world over as simply Prince Harry. Prince Harry is thought to be the more interesting of the two sons of Prince Charles. Prince Harry has a military background that includes serving on the frontline for a time (some two months-plus) in Afghanistan. His visit to our shores should be one of the delightful happenings in Bahamian history. If local plans do indeed call for him to visit the new national stadium, he will be connected historically with the facility forever.
•The nation extends a warm welcome to the prince! To respond to this column, kindly contact Fred Sturrup at fredericksturrup@gmail.com. |
