TODAY will see the start of a gruelling three-day competition in which some of the brightest minds in the world will be vying for the title of champion.
The World Memory Championship (WMC), brought to Bahrain by Intelnacom, will test the human brain's mnemonic skills based on 10 disciplines, including historic dates, speed cards, names and faces.
Around 80 international competitors will be taking part in the championship, which is being held for the first time in the Middle East and second time outside the UK.
The competition comes as part of the Festival of the Mind, which opened last night.
National Guards Commander Major General Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa was among the VIPs, who attended the event as well as Intelnacom chief executive officer Professor Dr Bernd Hoefer.
The competition will run until Sunday at the Crowne Plaza Bahrain Conference Centre.
Organised by SJ Media Group, it will host a series of workshops, exhibitions and mind games, including chess, sudoku and scrabble competitions, X-Box games and IQ testing that will be open to the public.
Guest speakers at the festival will include founder of the WMC and inventor of Mind Maps, Tony Buzan and eight-time WMC champion Dominic O'Brien, who is also a Guinness Book record holder after successfully memorising 54 decks of playing cards (2,808) cards after only a single sighting of each card.
"We look forward to having three days of excitement and fun filled with presenters, exhibitors, as well as various specialists from around the world," said professor Hoefer.
"The festival will create a regional awareness about the WMC and will place Bahrain on top holding the first festival of its kind event in the region."
The competition takes place from 9am daily and will continue until evening. For more information about the WMC, visit its website at
www.worldmemorychampionship.com.