Par Khaled Ben Rejeb*
The biggest flower festival in the region of Namangan, a city in Uzbekistan located in the east of the country, will take place from May 24 to June 5 in the leisure park named ZM Bobur. Every year, the Namangan Flower Festival is celebrated by nurserymen and landscapers who will display their floral works at an internationally renowned festival.
Preparations for the 62e edition of the festival are in full swing in the Namangan region. The “Destination Namangan” Association of the Republic of Uzbekistan works closely with national and international organizations, with a view to better organizing the festival and promoting the region’s tourist attractiveness. The Tunisian Association of Solidarity Tourism is one of those organizations that collaborate with the supervisory bodies and the Destination Namangan Association.
The scope of the Namangan Region Flower Festival has expanded in recent years. Therefore, the number of local and foreign tourists and guests express their interest to participate. Guests from Tunisia, South Korea, Russia, Turkey, Pakistan, the Netherlands and neighboring countries such as Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are invited to take part in the festival and admire the floral art masterpieces. This colorful festival is covered not only by local media representatives, but also by a number of foreign media representatives, including from Tunisia, China, Turkey, Iran, India and neighboring countries.
It is expected that this festival will help promote the tourist attractiveness of the Namangan region and establish a strong relationship between the local community and foreign tourists. The Namangan region will have a great opportunity to show the world its tourism potential in this area.
In total, more than 200 florist-entrepreneurs and 120 companies will be present at the event. From year to year, the number of seedlings increases significantly. This year, and for the first time in the history of the festival, 25 million flowers will be planted once morest 10 million last year.
The flower parade will take place in the central streets of Namangan city. In this parade, more than 200 local transports such as cars, combine harvesters, fire trucks, tractors and ambulances will be decorated with flowers and will pass through the city to ZM Bobur Amusement Park.
It has become a great annual traditional event for everyone since it was first started in 1961. Thus, Namangan Flower Festival will bring unforgettable moments to visitors during the spring season.
K.B.R.
*President of the Tunisian Association of Solidarity Tourism