The World Cup preparation of Qatar

 

Colin Nagy said that the last time he checked in on the development of World Cup in Qatar about a year back. He found that Doha to be a city is moving swiftly towards a hard deadline, as well as working out supply chain kinks as well with Covid, and some resistance with the experience of the guests getting in and out of the country. He said that as he reported at the time, he could narrow his eyes and see the bigger picture, and the bigger strategic building blocks that were being put into place, in the middle of the building dust, new hotels, and infrastructure coming online.

He said that he flew in again a few weeks earlier, out of pure interest. His final approach into Hamad International disclosed a more stylish skyline, mainly Doha’s norther part, in Lusail. He saw more cultural touch points all through the city like M7, an improvement center and entrepreneurship in fashion, design, and tech. There were many cafes like Toby’s Estate Coffee, and Kitsune dispersed all around the Mandarin Oriental in the Soho-feeling Msherib development. According to the demands of the tournament, there were new places as well where tourists can gather to look at the matches outside, with music being played and people assembling outside: something he wouldn’t have seen five years back.

He saw the new stadiums, lavish shopping centers developed newly, and also areas that hinted him about the larger ambitions for Qatar post-World Cup.

Tags: The World Cup,  Qatar