This year, around 2,724 torches have been prepared to be carried up a hill where a 50-meter flag of Kurdistan will be displayed. The number of torches symbolizes the year 2724 in the Kurdish calendar, which starts on March 21.
Of the 2,724 torches, 150 of them have been readied and carried by a group of 150 Peshmerga soldiers, Adna Abdulwahab, head of the Peshmerga group said.
Key leaders including Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, and officials of diplomatic missions will take part in the Akre’s Newroz celebrations this year.
In light of the fact that this year Newroz coincides with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the celebrations will kick off right after iftar.
"We will start the Newroz carnival after iftar," Dilshad Ali, head of the Akre arts and culture department told Rudaw on Monday. "A large number of people will come to Akre including foreigners and diplomats."
In Akre, it has become a tradition for visitors to climb up the town's hill with torches after dusk, creating a festive spirit with fireworks displays in the diverse town where Muslims, Christians, and other ethnicities and religious groups have coexisted for centuries. In addition to torches, a significant amount of fireworks and a lighting system have been prepared.
"Once the groups have climbed the mountain with their torches, then we will start shooting fireworks at the very same place [at the top of the mountain],” said Masoud Haji Zubair, the head of a company that will provide fireworks for the Akre Newroz celebrations.
“We will display very beautiful fireworks. We will do an amazing job, God willing. We will add laser lights too. This year's fireworks will be done much better and in a more beautiful way," he added.
Kurds from all over the Kurdistan Region traditionally gather in the town of Akre to honor the tages-long tradition of lighting fires to welcome the New Year on the first day of spring.
Hundreds of thousands of people from the Kurdistan Region, as well as Kurdish regions in Turkey, Iran, and Syria, will celebrate the eve of Newroz on Wednesday, also symbolizing a day of freedom from tyranny and resistance.
Kurds celebrate Newroz on March 21-23 by picnicking in the countryside and lighting bonfires with their families and loved ones. The occasion is known as the Kurdish New Year.
Celebrations and festivities are held across the Kurdistan Region with hundreds of thousands of Kurds dancing in their colorful and traditional Kurdish clothes.
