A last-minute surge in ticket sales has accelerated the build-up of  2013 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix fever in Bahrain.

With just six days left before the curtain rises on the 2013 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, excitement can be felt across the kingdom, organisers Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) said yesterday.

"Ticket sales, for example, are way above last year's, so there are positive signs there," BIC chief executive Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa said.

"This is a big thing for Bahrain, and at the same time it puts the kingdom on the map of the world." F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has already said that he has no worries about the race being hit by protests and that he is looking forward to it.

The BIC has promised visitors to the race, between Friday and Sunday, an exciting array of performances. Apart from the Porsche Coleccion Gomez art exhibition, a raft of new entertainment has been announced for the Grand Prix.

Kenya's Black Angels, the Mangoma African Band, Pop the Balloon Man, the Cherry Faces face painters, the Camel Explorers and the African Comedy Show have all been added to the line-up.-TradeArabia News Service