More than a dozen character balloons soared above the Doha Corniche on Wednesday, marking the launch of the region’s first-ever giant balloon parade on the second day of the Eid Festival in Qatar.
Festival-goers witnessed helium-filled balloons featuring characters from popular video games, cartoons and films such as Angry Birds, Minions and Super Mario, among others, alongside a Qatar Airways balloon plane.
A large number of people thronged Qatar’s famous thoroughfare, which has been transformed into a colourful walkabout as part of the festival.
The much-anticipated parade was held late in the evening on Wednesday. The parade on the festival’s opening day (May 3) was cancelled due to bad weather, according to Qatar Tourism.
Spectators, especially children were thrilled to see the balloons. “It was a long wait but worth it,” said a resident who had gone to the Corniche with a friend. “It was simply great. Seeing some of my favourite characters as giant balloons made my…