NATIONAL HERO Sir Garfield Sobers should be smiling tomorrow.

On a day when the ten National Heroes will be remembered for their significant contributions to this country's social development, the lone living hero will come under major focus – again.

That's because Government has decided to honour Sir Garry during the closing ceremony of the 2007 Cricket World Cup, which climaxes when Australia and Sri Lanka meet in the final at Kensington Oval tomorrow, National Heroes Day.

Director of Cultural Affairs in the Prime Minister's Office, Cecilia Toppin, revealed yesterday that the main challenge for organisers of this year's National Heroes Day celebrations was trying to compete with the World Cup final, an impossibility under the circumstances.

"We figured the most sensible thing to do was to honour Sir Garry. He is considered the world's greatest all-rounder, and he remains our only living National Hero, so it is a great choice," she told the WEEKEND NATION.

Toppin noted that within the next 24 hours, a number of public service announcements on radio and television would indicate to Barbadians just how they would be honouring Sir Garry for his contribution to Barbados.

"We don't know exactly what will be done, since the closing ceremony will not be very long, but we do know that Sir Garry is the obvious choice as the National Hero we want to honour.

"We didn't want to let National Heroes Day slide by, and our lone living hero not be the focus," she added.

The decision to honour Sir Garry will mean the living legend would have been involved in both the beginning and the end of the Caribbean's first hosting of the world's third largest sporting event.

It was Sir Garry who declared the World Cup open during a colourful and memorable opening ceremony at the new Trelawny Stadium in Jamaica on March 11. (BA)