Doha, Qatar - June 10- The Qatar 2022 Bid revealed details of the 2000sqm fan zone that will open its doors in Doha’s Souq Wakif area during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, giving local fans the chance to watch matches on a giant LED screen, to participate in games and activities, and learn more about Qatar’s bid to host the 2022 World Cup.
The Fan Zone will officially open on June 11 and welcome up to 1000 people every day until July 11.
The Fan Zone, with a layout created based on a football pitch design, will provide a spectator area with seats for supporters, in addition to areas dedicated to two main exhibitions and other informative, interactive features for children and adults alike.
Visitors will be able to enjoy an exhibition featuring the history of the World Cup, showcasing the 18previous editions of the tournament with 10 minutes clips from each final as well as information and archived pictures on each competition and details on the winners and runners up. Each dedicated space will also feature a copy of the original FIFA World Cup official poster from each edition of the tournament. A second exhibition -` Koora Al Arabia: Portraits of Football in Arabian Nations `- will be also launched on the opening day at the Fan Zone, offering all visitors the opportunity to view 40 pictures portraying people of the region displaying their passion for football. The Qatar 2022 Bid Committee sent photographer Caio Vilela on a mission this Spring: he was to travel across the Arab nations looking for people playing football and photographing them. What you see in this exhibition is the findings of this mission: from Tangier to Giza, from Doha to Soqotra, from Aleppo to Al Quds and Aqaba – football is everywhere.
Nasser Al Kather - Qatar 2022 Bid Communication Director - described the Fan Zone as an effort to engage the local community and provide a unifying outlet during the World Cup. “We want to bring everyone together – young and old – to experience football during the most important global sporting event. By providing information on past World Cup tournaments, and in allowing everyone to learn more about our own bid, we hope that people will continue to believe that our bid is within reach and has the ability to transform the country and the region in the same manner as South Africa.”
On June 23 `The Legacy Exhibition` will be opening in a tent adjacent to the Fan Zone area. The exhibition will run for three weeks and will offer visitors a visual timeline experience of the history of football in Qatar.
Furthermore there will be an area dedicated to the 2010 South Africa World Cup with information on Nelson Mandela , on the country’s passion for football as well as a space showcasing the 5 proposed state-of-the-art stadia and cooling technologies for the Qatar 2022 Bid. Visitors will also be able to leave messages to support Qatar’s 2022 Bid.
The Fan Zone will focus especially on youngsters, with various games set up from virtual soccer with Playstations to fussball tables, from `precise shot` to `hard shot` competitions where prizes will be given out each day to the winners.
The fan zones will provide beverage and food areas as well and it will represent the focal point for fan, youth and families to enjoy the World Cup, watch their favourite teams, play and express their support the Qatar 2022 Bid throughout the tournament.
