Most airports have fences and signs telling people to keep out. Funafuti's runway is the opposite - it is the heart of the community. Twice a day, when a plane is about to land, someone radios a warning to the airport tower and anyone on the runway simply walks off to the side. A few minutes later the plane lands, everyone claps or waves, and then the park fills up again.
This works because Tuvalu is one of the smallest countries in the world by population - fewer than 12,000 people live there. There is no room for a separate park, sports oval, or fairground, so everything happens on the runway. You might see a basketball game, a group of children flying kites, or a family barbecue all in the same afternoon.
The runway also helps people understand how tightly the whole island community is connected. Everyone knows the flight schedule. Everyone knows each other. When a new shipment of goods arrives by plane, the whole island knows within minutes. It is one of the most unusual airports in the world - and one of the friendliest.