Visiting teams enjoy Nairobi’s beauty and Kenyan hospitality
Models pose with Jamaican 100 metres hurdles athlete Ackeri Nugent at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani on August 17, 2021 before the opening ceremony of the World Athletics U-20 Championships.
What you need to know:
- Hotels get a windfall after prolonged slump due to the pandemic
- Visitors can only steal a glimpse of the city from their hotel rooms or while en route to the stadium
A sunny afternoon on Tuesday lifted the gloom of the past few days for visiting foreign teams, some of whom had not experienced the feel of Nairobi’s warm, mild equatorial weather conditions during the final dress rehearsal for the World Athletics Under 20 Championships.
Many of the visitors were impressed by the Kenyan show that has been unfolding in the last five days.
From left: David Rudisha, Mary Moraa lead other delegates of Team Kenya during the opening ceremony of the 2021 World Under-20 Athletics Championship at Kasarani on August 17, 2021.
The championship presents an opportunity for athletes to do what they know best after suffering due to containment measures in the last 18 months following the global outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The biggest beneficiaries of this event will be the hospitality industry which is still reeling from a slump caused by the virus. Many hotels were forced to close down. All five-star hotels in Nairobi have been block-booked for visiting teams, and closed to walk-in visitors because of strict World Athletics Covid-19 protocols.
Team Kenya and the national technical officials, who will be in charge of the competition, are based at Weston Hotel which is now a no-go zone.
"It's a shame that we cannot see what is beneath the surface of your beautiful city which I would have loved to explore," said Georgette Reed, the Canadian head coach.
Reed first met Kenyan athletes during the 2001 World Athletics Championships in Edmonton, Canada.
"We are totally impressed by the hospitality we have been accorded since our arrival. The food at Tamarind Hotel is fantastic, workers are friendly and the view of the city and the national park is wonderful," she said.
"Covid-19 has really done us in but I hope to return in future, and oh ! I will certainly recommend anyone to come to Kenya," said the coach who has 17 athletes in a well-balanced team.
Team Israel coach Balon Yigal marvelled at the beauty of the refurbished 60,000-seater Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani - the venue of the championship which was opened in 1987.
"The weather is good, people are kind-hearted and I really like the young volunteers," he said, accompanied by his colleague Renard Longuevre who said the high altitude is an important factor in determining results.
Fireworks lit up the sky at during the opening ceremony of the 2021 World Under-20 Athletics Championship at Kasarani on August 17, 2021.
Yigal invited Kenyans to visit the Dead Sea, 430 metres below sea level compared to Nairobi at 1,600 metres plus above.
Like everybody else, Yigal said he would have loved to walk in the streets of Nairobi and sample other areas that they will miss out because of their confinement at Sarova Panafric Hotel along Kenyatta Avenue where they are staying.
All the teams and technical officials, Kenya included, are living in bubbles. They commute between Kasarani, Nyayo National Stadium and to their respective hotels in buses escorted by the police. They are not allowed to leave Kasarani or their hotels in what has been classified as the “Green Zone”, or a no-go area for any other person.
Kenya’s neighbours feel very much part of the event and its success.
"I am very proud of Kenya which is leading the way for Africa in hosting major international events,"noted Team Ethiopia coach Abiyot Getanah.
“This enables other African countries to aim for the same so that regional neighbours can travel short distances to watch international sporting events. This will also give our young people exposure which they can only get abroad."
Fireworks lit up the sky at during the opening ceremony of the 2021 World Under-20 Athletics Championship at Kasarani on August 17, 2021.
His colleague Muluken Bekele said the weather conditions are different for Ethiopians who have been training under rainy conditions.
"But we have a strong team, and as always, we are looking forward to a good competition between Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Eritrea and some European countries. The hospitality, and the variety of food we have been given is good," said the coach.
