ABU DHABI, 31st August, 2023 (WAM) — The Higher Organising Committee of the Zayed Charity Marathon announced the full programme of its marathons for 2023-2024.
The programme includes charity marathons in Abu Dhabi, Egypt and the US, all scheduled to take place in 2023, as well as the highlights and procedures of the inaugural edition of the marathon planned in India in 2024.
The announcement came during a meeting held yesterday evening at the Erth Hotel in Abu Dhabi, chaired by retired Lt. General Mohammed Hilal Al Kaabi, with the attendance of all partners from the Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC), the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC), the UAE Armed Forces, the Ministry of Interior, the Zayed Higher Organisation for People of Determination (ZHO), the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, and the Abu Dhabi Sports Channels Group, the marathon’s media partner.
During the meeting, Al Kaabi said that the Zayed Charity Marathon will be held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region and Chairman of the ERC, on 4th December, 2023, at the Yas Marina Circuit, as part of the UAE’s National Day celebrations.
The proceeds from the marathon will be directed towards innovative cancer research and treatments, and monetary prizes for winners will amount to AED1 million, while the promotional campaign for the race is set to commence in mid-September, including the distribution of 50,000 caps bearing the marathon’s colours and logo to school students, he added.
The Zayed Charity Marathon was launched in 2001 in Abu Dhabi to spread humanitarian and charitable messages that embody the legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, as his philanthropic impact extended to charitable and humanitarian institutions in the US and Egypt, and will reach out to India in the following year, in collaboration with authorities in Kerala State and the Indian community in the UAE, Al Kaabi added.
Regarding the date and location of the Zayed Charity Marathon in Egypt, he explained that it will take place on 29th December, 2023, at the Giza Pyramids area, and its prize money will be doubled to E£10 million, distributed among 10,000 winners, up from 5,000 in the previous year.
The ADSC, the strategic partner of the Higher Organising Committee, will announce further details about the marathons in Abu Dhabi and Egypt.
“As for the Zayed Charity Marathon in the US, this year it will move from New York to Miami in Florida for its seventeenth edition. It will be held on 4th November, 2023, in cooperation with the UAE Embassy in Washington, and its proceeds will go to the Specialist Kidney Research Hospital through the National Kidney Foundation,” Al Kaabi further said.
The collaboration between the UAE Embassy and the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism to host accompanying events on the sidelines of the marathon in the US is ongoing, and various entities will be invited, including the official airlines of the UAE and several tourism organisations in the country, he further added.
“We held a meeting with the authorities in the Indian state of Kerala on 18th June, in cooperation with the Indian community in the UAE, and we discussed the launch of the first edition of the Zayed Charity Marathon in India, specifically in the state of Kerala. Given its population of 35 million, the response is expected to be unprecedented. We will hold another meeting soon with officials from the Ministry of Culture and Youth, Indian authorities and the community to determine the date, location and prizes of the first marathon, which we aim to host in 2024,” he said in conclusion.