The size of Ile de France, Qatar hopes to welcome more than a million visitors for this first World Cup in a Muslim country. Seven months before the start of the event, Doha is still an open-air construction site.
Most of the hotels have been reserved by the organization, testifies Laurent Milliasseau. He is the Food and Beverage Manager at Alwadi Doha – MGallery Hotel Collection, a 200-room property in downtown Doha:
“We, already here at the hotel, we see many, many companies which already have contracts with FIFA, which are already there, in the process of setting themselves up. We are going to receive everything that is journalists and all the press department that will cover the World Cup. We are guaranteed to be full for 15 days.”
/2022/04/21/phpJnK3jr.jpg)
The Qatari authorities claim that everything will be ready in time and if the capacity of the hotels is insufficient on land, they plan to use the cabins of cruise ships moored at the port of Doha to accommodate visitors, or alternatively tents in the desert or guest rooms.
“They love football. They are all behind the purchase of PSG. You can see Qatari women with PSG shirts, all that. They have this passion for football and for France, Europe in general, so It shows. They are very excited and I think they are very proud to host this event.”
/2022/04/21/phpxhL2C2.jpg)
The tiny, but very rich gas emirate is also counting on the planetary impact of this event to restore its image in terms of human rights or working conditions for the hundreds of thousands of foreign workers on the construction sites of the World Cup stadiums, regularly denounced by NGOs.
In Doha, visitors who take the time to linger can discover authentic places behind the waterfront skyscrapers, such as Souq Wakif: “It’s the genesis of Doha. All the families who had their little stalls in the souq, who sold spices to export to England. It all started here. Once you enter the souq and walk there, you say wow! that’s it, I’m more in Paris, I’m more in Europe, I’m in the Middle East. There, it’s really a culture shock.”
/2022/04/21/php2LKhSr.jpg)
The decor of one of the hotel’s restaurants also tells of this rich past of the emirate, explains Lucille Georget, French in charge of marketing and communication.
“We have the blue bottles that represented the transport of spices at the time, which really represent the colonization of Great Britain at the time in Qatar. You really have a story behind this restaurant with the inscription of the ports on the ground , on the wall, the map at the time of colonization, the stamp of Queen Elizabeth. We like to tell stories a lot.”
The first matches of the World Cup will therefore take place on November 21. They will be divided between eight stadiums, some of which are true architectural masterpieces. The French football team will be keen to defend its title of world champion, won four years ago.
Write to Laurent Milliasseau: [email protected]
Write to Lucille Georget: [email protected]
/2021/11/19/phpT2J9Yp.jpg)
Go to Qatar with Qatar Airways, the airline of Qatar. It operates international flights to five continents from its main hub at Doha International Airport.
Go to Qatar with Visit Qatar
Stay at Alwadi Doha – MGallery Hotel Collection
Find this column on the website, the app and in the international mobility magazine French abroad.fr