THE city of Warri will come alive today when the best musicians and comedians from the South-South zone gather to usher in Nigeria's best athletes to the oil town for the grand prix that also incorporates the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) Grand Prix.The first Warri Relays is fashioned after such great forebears as the American Penns and Texas Relays, with invited foreigners and top Nigerian stars expected to battle for honours in a festive atmosphere. The event, to most of the athletes, has added importance because some of them would pick qualification tickets to the London 2012 Olympics from the Warri tracks.At the close of entries on Monday, 61 foreign athletes from over 20 countries had confirmed their participation in today's event. Some of the countries are the United States, Jamaica, Bahamas, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Vincent, Egypt, Cameroun, Botswana, Morocco, Algeria, Senegal, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Ethiopia, Liberia and Uganda.The setting presents a beautiful atmosphere for Nigerians to see their top athletes compete for honours before heading to Calabar for the final Olympics selection trials. Though the sprint may not be as competitive - with the absence of world-rated stars like Blessing Okagbare, Gloria Asumnu and Oludamola Osayomi - other events are going to be full of shocks and upsets.One of the teams dreaming of Olympics qualification is the Nigerian 4x400 quartet, which is aiming to run a faster time to make the cut of first 16 countries to be selected for the London 1600 men's event.Aside the athletes, the organisers say they have planned an elaborate entertainment package for the event with such notable arts as Nigeria's new generation stars, led by Duncan Mighty.Duncan, whose hit track, The Port Harcourt First Son, remains top of playing lists of several radio and television stations, is likely to use the event to give a hint of what to expect from him next. According to the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) President, Solomon Ogba, Warri will witness a fusion of sports and dance today.He said: 'Sports is about youth, and music also appears to be a strong weapon to attract this class of Nigerians to an event like the Warri Relays. That is why we have the likes of Duncan Mighty, AY, Maleke and several others to spice up the event on Thursday (today).'Already, comedian AY, who will anchor the show, has promised to give his best performance even as several other Warri sons in the showbiz have equally assured fans of a moment to remember.The last time Warri witnessed something close to the programme planned for today was at the final ceremony of the African Women Championships four years ago, when Stereoman, the Ekwe crooner, kept everyone dancing to his high-fusion African beats laced with unusual vocals.
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