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Sunday Nov 17, 2024
Wednesday, 17 June 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Royal College’s 23-22 victory at Pallekele, the second leg of the 71st Bradby Shield Encounter was set to be a thriller and the Royalists were ready to party with the second edition of the Bradby Fiesta. A project done by the Royal College Union, the Bradby Fiesta was inaugurated in 2014 to celebrate the spirit of rugby and all the tradition that goes along with the biggest rugby encounter in the island. Joining hands with HSBC as the main sponsor and the exclusive credit card partner, and Sri Lanka Telecom as the telco sponsor, the event was set up in grand style on 23 May.
Kicking off the opening ceremony at 11 a.m. with representatives of the sponsors and the two schools, the Bradby Fiesta boasted a stellar line-up of activities and performances for all rugby enthusiasts and fun-seekers from Colombo and Kandy. The main attractions of the event were the carnival rides, kids’ zone, the hawker street and of course, the entertainment line-up and the live screening of the game. Despite recurring showers, the rugby fans’ spirits were not dampened as the crowds kept on flowing in throughout the day to enjoy the carnival atmosphere with their families and catch up with the game and all the excitement that comes with it. With the game being sold-out well in advance, Bradby Fiesta has become the ideal solution for those who can’t get their hands on tickets to the game, being held conveniently at the Bloomfield grounds which neighbours the Royal College Sports Complex.
The Royal College outfit put on an astounding performance to comprehensively defeat the Trinitians with a score of 49-00 and the party kicked off immediately at the Fiesta to the music of Sunil Perera. The musical line-up kept the crowd going all the way until midnight with performances also by DJ Upul, Asanka Sahabandu, Corrine Almeida, Bathiya and Santhush along with Ashanthi, Randhir and Umaria who were all backed by the terrific C Plus who together, offered a variety of music ranging from baila to pop to EDM.
Sri Lanka Telecom hosted a futuristic fashion show based on neon colours together with Lou Ching Wong. The carnival attractions were thoroughly enjoyed, with people queuing up for the many fun rides and the beautiful firework displays certainly added a little more glamour to the event.
Possibly the most energetic section of the field was the Kids Zone, done together with Milo and Maggi (Nestle Lanka PLC), which kept all the kids thoroughly entertained with a host of fun games and activities.
No carnival would be complete without an end-to-end selection of food stalls, and Bradby Fiesta featured everything you could ask for from five-star to street food. Coupled with offers for HSBC credit cardholders, the hawker street was a massive hit with all the vendors eventually running out of food to serve the 15,000 plus crowd. HSBC also offered an exciting Oakley eyewear give-away where cardholders were asked to run up to the stage with the first to make it winning the prize.
All in all, Bradby Fiesta was a fantastic event, creating a fabulous atmosphere around the much-awaited Bradby encounter. Providing a full-blown party for everyone, Bradby Fiesta is bound to become a massive calendar event that will be much anticipated by both the people of Colombo and Kandy who come together to celebrate and enjoy the spirit of rugby.
