Dhaka: Inspired by the unique painted rickshaws, which pack the streets of the Bangladesh cities, the logo for the ICC World Twenty20 2014 was unveiled on a star-studded evening in Dhaka tonight.
At a glittering gala shown live on television in Bangladesh - and in the presence of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Vice President AHM Mustafa Kamal and Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) President Nazmul Hassan – the logo for the tournament was launched exactly one year ahead of the tournament finals.
For the first time, 16 men’s teams will compete for the ICC World Twenty20 in Bangladesh 2014 alongside eight women’s teams who include for the first time the hosts. The event will run from 16 March to 6 April 2014 and is scheduled to be played in four cities in Bangladesh – Mirpur, Chittagong, Sylhet and Cox’s Bazar.
The spectacular night featured popular Bangladesh artists Lubna Marium and her team Shadhona, singers Habib and Nancy as well as magician Jewel Aich and sand artist Kaushik Bose performing infront of a packed audience of more than 500 specially invited guests.
The focal point of the evening, compered by former Bangladesh cricket star and now renowned commentator Athar Ali Khan accompanied by Farah Sharmeen, was the unveiling of the event logo which uses the colours of the Bangladesh flag with splashes of blue which represents Bangladesh’s iconic waterways (as well as being the ICC’s own colour).
The T is made up of cricket stumps and the 0 in the T20 represents the cricket ball complete with Bangladeshi green seam while the white in the design lends an energetic, friendly and youthful feel to the logo.
Designed in Australia by design company WiteKite who also designed the ICC Cricket World Cup logo in 2011, the ICC World Twenty20 2012 Sri Lanka mark and the distinctive logo for the ICC Women’s World Cup 2013 India.
ICC Vice President AHM Mustafa Kamal said: “The evening captured the sounds and colours of this beautiful country with a distinctively Bangladeshi logo and memorable launch event. I know that the BCB will work tirelessly in the next 12 months to ensure they help deliver a tournament that ICC, BCB, world cricket and the people of Bangladesh can be proud to be associated with.
“We have now less than 12 months to go to the start of the ICC World Twenty20 2014 and in that time I am certain that the excitement will build to fever pitch and the demand for tickets will outstrip even that of the wonderfully successful ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 in which Bangladesh was a joint host with India and Sri Lanka.”
