The London-based Indian Ocean Club will stage its first grand gala in the Indian Ocean region at Le Surmer Restaurant Saturday December 13.

The club is a network of people who have an interest in the Indian Ocean region – many of whom are Seychellois living overseas – said Lewis Betsy, the Indian Ocean Club’s managing director.

Mr Betsy, a Seychellois living in London, created the club two years ago in an effort to generate interest about the Indian Ocean region in the UK and elsewhere.

According to Mr Betsy, while one facet of the club’s activities is to promote tourism in the Indian Ocean, the club also serves as an international forum.  He said that given the widespread global community of Seychelles and Mauritius especially, the club was also set up as a forum for Indian Ocean islanders living abroad to meet and interact with each other, regardless of where they live.

The club launched its first newsletter last year and has regularly organised galas for its members in the UK since its inception.  The club also invited local band Zenith and a troupe of Mauritian dancers to perform at one of its events in London.  Some UK members are even flying down for tomorrow’s gala.

Mr Betsy said that apart from Saturday’s gala, the Indian Ocean Club has ambitious plans for the future, starting with the recent opening of a new office just outside of London.

In addition to the regular newsletters and galas, Mr Betsy said he plans to produce two high-quality magazines to commemorate the independence days of Seychelles and Mauritius.  The Seychelles edition will be ready for June next year, while the Mauritian issue is slated for 2005.

A preliminary version of the Indian Ocean Club’s Web site is also currently up and running at www.indianoceanclub.com, but the full site will be officially rolled out soon.

The Web site will feature updated business and cultural news about the region, and will also have forums and message boards for those who have an interest in the region to correspond.

As a former international captain of the Seychelles football team, and with his son Kevin a professional footballer in England’s Premiere League, Mr Betsy said the Web site and the club’s other activities would also keep people across the globe connected with sports news around the various islands, especially in light of the recent edition of the Indian Ocean Games.

Early bookings for Saturday’s gala can be made by contacting Le Surmer at 241811. 

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