THAILAND: Elephants cerebrate World Cup

Record ID: 185064

  • Title: THAILAND: Elephants cerebrate World Cup
  • Date: 10th June 2010
  • Summary: BANGKOK, THAILAND (JUNE 10, 2010) (REUTERS) PEOPLE WALKING ON STREET OF KHAO SAN ROAD BALLS AND NATIONAL FLAGS BEING HUNG OUTSIDE BAR ELEPHANTS BEING PAINTED OF NATIONAL FLAGS OF TEAMS PARTICIPATING IN WORLD CUP MAN PAINTING ITALIAN FLAG ON ELEPHANT MAN PAINTING BRITISH FLAG VARIOUS OF WOMAN PAINTING ON ELEPHANT'S BODY TOURIST TAKING PICTURE ELEPHANT DANCING ELEPHANT HOLDING U.S. FLAG
  • Embargoed: 25th June 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Thailand
  • Country: Thailand
  • Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA54797WF63JAQ5JMHUWA613PNF
  • Story Text: Not only South Africa that cerebrating World Cup, the soccer fever also hit Thailand as hundreds of school children and elephants paraded in Bangkok on Thursday (June 10) ahead of World Cup matches in a bid to promote tourism.
    The area of Khao San Road, popular with foreign backpackers, was decorated with national flags of teams participating in World Cup, the balls were hung outside the clubs and bars to build up the atmosphere for soccer fans.
    Two male pachyderms Peter, 6, and 5-year-old Panlarn were painted with the flags of World Cup teams including Italy, Mexico, France, Brazil and England.
    Hundred of school children held the flags paraded on the street while elephants danced along with the music to celebrate FIFA World Cup in South Africa although Thailand does not take part in the game.
    The celebration also aimed to promote tourism in Thailand as the recent unrest in Bangkok has hardly hurt tourism during the nine weeks protests in central Bangkok which killed 85 people and wounded nearly 2,000.
    "It (World Cup) is actually the activity of the world. There are many tourists from various nationality on Khao Sarn Road including people from Asia or Europe. So I want to encourage them to come out and spend money -- to come out cheering. It's their culture. We want them to be happy and enjoy thier time on Khao San Road," said bar owner Sanga Ruengsakul (pron: Sa-nga Rueng-sa-koon).
    The state Tourism Authority of Thailand has cut its target for tourist arrivals this year to 13 million from 15.5 million and slashed its revenue target by a fifth to 480 billion baht ($14.7 billion).
    FIFA World Cup is scheduled to take place between 11 June and 11 July 2010 in South Africa.
    South Africa has hosted many major sports events since the nation rejoined the international sporting community at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, including the rugby and cricket World Cups, but nothing on the scale of the most popular and premier event in the world, the FIFA World Cup.
    South Africa expects about 370,000 foreign visitors during the event, lower than initial estimates of 450,000.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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