The US embassy in The Gambia, on Saturday, 26th December 2009, held  cultural Bazaar Extravaganza at the Sahel Relax country club located in Bijilo.

This was organised by the Alumni Association of the International Visitors Leadership programme of The Gambia in partnership with the US embassy in The Gambia. The occasion brought together members of the Alumni Association of The Gambia, officials of the US embassy, media practitioners and the general public.

 The weekend programme aimed among other things to bring together members of the alumni, their families and the Gambian people to celebrate the significance of this unique exchange programme and diverse cultures. The event is an international visitors’ programme that invites distinguished community leaders to exchange programmes in the US.

The programme is under the auspices of the international visitor leadership programme extended by each US embassy across the world. Since its inception some decades ago to date about 290 prominent personalities including both current and former heads of state and governments, 2,000 cabinet ministers among other distinguished  leaders from the public and private sectors benefited from the programme.

 According to the information relayed to the Arts and Culture from the officials of the US embassy, over 320 Gambians benefited from the programme from 1963 to date. The day long event was characterised by an extensive entertainment including sports.