Bernie Ecclestone is 100% sure that the 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix will take place
As antigovernment protests have resulted in another death in Bahrain, despite the opening of national dialogue between the opposition and the government, Bernie Ecclestone asserts that he is 100% confident that the 2013 Grand Prix will take place, while the Bahrain circuit has begun the countdown for the final sixty days before the event.
Confetti located in the heart of the Persian Gulf, the Kingdom of Bahrain did not escape the wave of revolt that swept over parts of the Arab world at the beginning of 2011. Two years after the start of this “Arab Spring,” in Bahrain, the buds are slow to bloom. Thus, as the national dialogue between the Shiite opposition and the Sunni government finally opens, the day of February 14 – the day of commemoration of the movement – was marked by new anti-government demonstrations following the call for a general strike and civil disobedience launched by the “February 14 Collective,” an opposition group particularly active on social networks.
Not without giving rise to clashes with riot police, these demonstrations were notably marked by the death of Ali Ahmed Ibrahim Aljzeeri, a 16-year-old protester, killed with a shotgun during a protest in the village of Diya, not far from the capital, Manama. Witnesses confirm that he posed no threat to the police officers at the time of the incident, claims al-Wefaq, the main opposition group to the government, which also indicates, with photos as evidence, that the protesters include several dozen injured among their ranks.
Sign if needed of the risk these incidents pose to the ongoing national dialogue process in Bahrain, the warning issued on Twitter by the British Foreign Secretary: « It is important that everyone remains committed to the national consensus dialogue: it is the only way to promote peace and stability in Bahrain. » Activists, however, doubt the goodwill of the current government, while the latter claims to have dismantled a terrorist cell linked notably to Iran and Iraq, the two main Shiite powers that the Bahraini government believes play a more or less decisive role in the anti-government unrest.
In such a context, it is difficult not to fear that Formula 1 may once again be faced with the question of organizing the Bahrain Grand Prix, which is scheduled in Sakhir next April 21. Indeed, if in 2011, the Bahrain Grand Prix was canceled, in 2012, the event went ahead against all odds, despite protests and the reluctance of some members of the paddock. Anticipating potential doubts about the successful holding of the 2013 edition, Bernie Ecclestone, during a visit to Dubai, stated he was 100% sure that the Grand Prix would take place as planned on April 21: “We have planned to hold an event there, so we will be there, just like last year.”
In the meantime, the Bahrain International Circuit has launched the sixty-day countdown to the 2013 Grand Prix and displays high ambitions despite the context: “There are always one or two special moments for those who come to the Bahrain Grand Prix, whether on the circuit or off it, and we would like all the fans to ‘imagine their moment’ and feel the excitement leading up to our Grand Prix,” comments the circuit’s executive director, Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa. Thus, while the Bahrain Grand Prix reportedly attracted, according to official figures, nearly 70,000 people in 2012, the goal in 2013 is to break the event’s historical record: “The Bahrain International Circuit hopes to approach the attendance record for the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend, which was 100,000 fans in 2010.”
