After days of shuffling feet and indecision, Formula One bosses have confirmed the race in Bahrain will go ahead next week despite security concerns.

The kingdom's worst political unrest since the 1990s and which put paid to last year's race still continues, but this time round race organisers don't want to miss out. When it was last there in 2010, 100,000 people turned up and it contributed half a billion dollars to the local economy. So what exactly is happening in Bahrain?

This last week alone police have been on the streets of the capital Manama each night, at one stage breaking up a group of protesters out in force calling for the release of political prisoner Abdulhadi al-Khawaja. Riot officers tried to disperse angry people throwing petrol bombs close to the Interior Ministry HQ.

Khawaja is a Danish citizen and a human rights activist who's been on hunger strike in prison for two months. He's serving a life sentence - along with 8 other activists - for his part in trying to overthrow the monarchy. His health is deteriorating and Bahrain has just refused a request by Copenhagen to hand him over.

All of that means that local people in and around the capital, Manama, have mixed views about the Formula 1 race.

"I am excited that Formula One is happening in Bahrain this year, I think it's a fabulous event, a lot of excitement going around it from the spring of culture to wounderful line-up we have this year, I think the ministry of culture has done a wonderful job what they have done this time. I am going to be there with my daughter and family

And in the village of Sanabis near the capital, this man says. The country is not prepared to host Formula 1. First we solve the problems in the country and then we will host it with the will of God. What is happening in Bahrain is the people of Bahrain are asking about their rights and the government must obey this call and with this the country will be back to normal as it was or even better."

The race is all set for the 22<sup>nd of April.