Thailand is preparing for waves of blue to fill the streets as hundreds of thousands of people across the country turn out for His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn’s much-awaited bicycle ride in honour of Her Majesty the Queen, who turned 83 last Wednesday.
More than 294,000 cyclists have registered for “Bike for Mom”, the first event of its kind.
The highlight will be an appearance by His Royal Highness in Bangkok.
Also in the procession will be Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, his cabinet members and many other VIPs. The event is scheduled to start at 3pm and is expected to end at 7pm.
The blue Royal Flag of Her Majesty the Queen. Blue is the Queen's birthday colour. (Source: Wikipedia)
The actual turn out is expected to be much higher as unregistered cyclists are being urged to take part, either for a short distance or the full ride to the 11th Infantry Regiment in Bang Khen. Huge crowds are also expected to show up along the route...
...In Bangkok, more than 8,000 security officers consisting of military, police and city inspectors will be deployed along the event’s 43km cycling route, said police spokesman Pol Lt Gen Prawut Thawornsiri.
Bomb squad teams will be dispatched for security checks along the route from 9am and will do further checks at noon, he said.
Authorities will start clearing vehicles from the roads to be used as cycling routes from 2pm. The roads will be blocked from 3pm and are expected to be reopened for vehicles from 8pm.