Jack Pidik Park

Christmas has arrived in the City of Port Moresby, the event that kicks off the holiday season locally, and people celebrate openly with families, friends and loved ones.

There are nothing like the sparkle of colorful Christmas lights at this time of the year to give the city streets an instant festive fever.

Once again, Jack Pidik Park in Port Moresby is ready to glow with the artificial Christmas trees that are now set up for the December evening entertainments.

The event was organised by the Diabetes Association of PNG and Gerehu Medical Centre as part of the World Diabetes Day 2016, a campaign for advocacy and awareness of the disease.

In a statement at Jack Pidik Park yesterday afternoon, Polye said: “Today is World Diabetes Day. There are more than 400 million people diagnosed with diabetes around the world, with it causing 1 in 4 people to die every second. This is shocking!”

He says diabetes is also another major health issue in PNG.

There was plenty of entertainment that included the Digicel big screens that showed the highlights from last year's NRL season.

Games were held with prizes being given out to the children.

Local band TONIQ also belted out songs plus a performance from comedian Elton Kili.

The Stop N Shop Vipers also made a special appearance to help build up the excitement as Digicel Play prepare to broadcast NRL games this season to the rest of the country.

The NRL in the Park will continue to be held every weekend in different locations in the country over the next month.