The International Cricket Council’s World Cup Trophy has arrived in Dhaka for a four-day stay in Bangladesh as part of its journey around the globe.
An Emirates Airways flight landed at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport with the trophy at 8:40am on Wednesday.
The ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, ICC's flagship 50-over event, will be held in England and Wales from May 30 to July 14 next year.
Cricket fans in Dhaka, Sylhet, and Chittagong will get the opportunity to see the trophy – which is 64cm tall and weighs 10.8kg – in their respective cities under a Unicef Bangladesh program before it leaves the country on October 21.
After the trophy is unveiled at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in the morning, there will be a photo session with underprivileged children at 10:30am and another photo session with the Bangladesh National Cricket team at noon.
On Thursday, the trophy will be displayed at the centre court of Jamuna Future Park from 11am to 9pm.
The trophy will be taken to Sylhet on Friday. A photo session with unprivileged children will take place at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium at 10:30am. The trophy will be on display from 11am to 4pm on the same venue before it is taken to Sylhet Cadet College at 4:30pm.
Finally, the trophy will be taken to Chittagong on Saturday, where it will be displayed from 11am to 6pm at the MA Aziz Stadium. There another photo session with unprivileged children will be held at 10:30am.
The trophy began its journey from the ICC headquarters in Dubai on August 27. It is travelling across five continents, 21 countries and over 60 cities. It is the most extensive Trophy Tour ever, and will allow cricket fans around the world to catch a glimpse of the coveted prize.
For the first time, the trophy will go beyond traditional cricketing nations and connect with fans in 11 other countries where cricket is gaining popularity.
Bangladesh is the trophy's sixth stopover, as it has already visited Oman, the USA, the West Indies, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. From here, the trophy will be taken to Nepal, India, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany before reaching England and Wales on February 19 next year.