TEDxBaghdad team did NOT start early!

Well, they did not start in the morning, for sure, as most of them did not even sleep the day before as they spent the night finalizing the stage preparations, lighting, sound systems and social media necessary arrangements.

At seven in the morning, a bee hive was seen at Crystal Grand Sheraton hotel in central Baghdad, when volunteers rushed in the 30-year-old hotel and Baghdad’s landmark in modern architecture, to join the already-prepared hard-at-work team members who –most of them- slept a couple of hours, only three days ago.

Baghdadians began their 600-men-and-women march towards event’s registration office, as the clock ticked in the eight o’clock, and the team was at the ready to receive the masses.

Strikingly, registration was going smoothly despite dozens of people were coming by the minute, thus an arrangement was made to accommodate the crowds and registration was extended till 10 AM.

“Expectations are at the highest, ” said Fatima Al-Zahraa, the 24-year-old registration office volunteer, adding that “failure is not an option for us, neither is delay.”

Yahay Al-Abdeli, the event’s licensee, prepared to deliver the opening ‘s speech, to begin the journey of yet another Iraqi dream coming true, the journey to infinity.