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Cor blimey! The waiting is over and the Apple Lady of Bahrain has finally revealed her secret ... she was covered in 2,500 apples!
The giant mannequin at Bahrain City Centre attracted a staggering 70,000 shoppers to play the counting game in recent weeks in a bid to win an array of prizes.
Mall management says the promotion has taken Bahrain's market 'by storm' this winter holiday season.
The five-metre high Apple Lady has stood tall in the shopping mall's Centre Court since December 20 and visitors had until last weekend to guess the number of apples that adorned the figure.
The centre's 'Guess & Win' campaign offered customers the chance of winning an iPad every day. Visitors also had the opportunity to redeem their BD20 receipts at Customer Service in exchange for coupons and the opportunity to win the 'Grand Apple Prize Package', valued at more than BD3,500 if they could correctly guess the number of apples making up the Apple Lady's outfit.
On Sunday the lucky winner with the first correct answer drawn was revealed as Bahraini housewife Najat Mohamed from Mahouz.
"We are regular shoppers at Bahrain City Centre and my family and I are so happy to win the grand prize," said Najat. "I've never won anything in draws before and I'm amazed and delighted."
She was too shy to be photographed with her prize package but her family - husband Isa and children, Noura, Njoud and Wadah - quickly stepped up to join in the celebrations ... and will no doubt later show her how to enjoy the gadgets!
Apple iPads also went to 28 winners including Irmina Orlowska, Eplgenio Tempra, Ali Khalil, Dilla Kumar, Fadwa Ibrahim, Stratigos Georgios, Joseph Dela Rosa, Amal Miknas, Yaqub Al Majid and Khalid Saeed.
Ray Scott, general manager of Bahrain City Centre, said as well as being a fun event the apple-themed promotion also had a serious 'healthy eating' message too which was appreciated by the mall's customers.
And he was overwhelmed by the staggering response to the 'Guess & Win' contest. He said: "It got so many of our customers asking, 'how many apples are there on the Apple Lady's dress?'
"From the initial 50,000 coupons we had made available for our customers, we had to order 20,000 more to cater to the high demand. We at Bahrain City Centre congratulate all who won and we wish all our customers the best in health for the winter season."
Apart from the chance for customers to win an iPad a day, each day for the duration of the 28-day event, Bahrain City Centre was distributing fresh apples to customers throughout the centre, to promote healthy food choices.
The mall will be donating the Apple Lady's adorning fun foam apples to the orphans at the Royal Charity Organisation, to be used as stress balls, which are proven to help with lowering blood pressure.
"Money is not as important as the understanding of our needs and contributions made to us by corporations," said Alaa Budalama, educational specialist of care at the Royal Charity Organisation.
Furthermore, the Bahrain City Centre Apple Lady's dress will also live on as a contribution to the fashion design students from the Royal University for Women who will re-sew the fabric to create their own fashion designs. Seven senior students and 12 freshers will be participating in the challenge.
"We are always looking for such opportunities for our fashion students as we strongly believe in re-using material and conservation. In addition, this will definitely give a great opportunity to our budding designer students to showcase their talent," said Dr Mona Suri, the university's Dean - Faculty of Art & Design.
A juggler also put his talents to the test at the mall's Centre Court throwing stress ball apples into the crowd, as a final celebration.
