As the eyes of the sporting world focus on Qatar, the country’s iconic Khalifa International Stadium is being transformed into a global community, with a vibrant World Athletics Village preparing to welcome spectators during the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019.
Athletes from 213 countries will compete in the ten-day competition as Doha will host the Middle East’s biggest-ever sporting event, with fans able to experience cultures from across the world, in the World Athletics Village which is the first-ever sporting fan zone in Qatar to celebrate communities across the globe.
Spectators will be treated to a whole host of activities with performers including dance acts from different communities as well as an opportunity to meet and greet with athletes post competition.
The cultural celebration will see the Village divided into areas which represent Africa, North and South America, Europe and Asia, with areas decorated in themes of each country, serving different food, entertainment and prize giveaways.
Speaking of the spectator experience, Sheikha Asma al Thani, Director of Marketing and Communications for the Local Organising Committee, commented: “The IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 is a celebration not only for Qatar, but for sports fans across the globe. It is an event which gives perfect platform to unite communities and cultures from across the world and that is the aim of the World Athletics Village.
“It gives an added experience to fans of all ages attending the competition, celebrating diverse communities through a delicious range of cuisines, throughout to a variation of live entertainment that people can join in with.
“I encourage everybody to visit the World Athletics Village and join in with the fun and celebrations alongside athletics fans from a whole host of different countries.”
The World Athletics Village will be open to welcome guests from 5.00 pm daily, with entry free of charge on the day to anybody with a ticket to the competition that evening.
Three media centres
The local organizing committee of the Doha 2019 said it is putting the final touches to its preparations to host 700 journalists who are expected to come from every part of the world and cover the event.
The head of the organizing committee, Abdullah al Mulla, said on the sidelines of a workshop that the number of journalists could exceed 700. He said that they are currently preparing the media centre at the Khalifa International Stadium which will open on September 21.
He added that two more media centres will be set up to help journalists cover the championships comfortably. The second media centre will be at the Corniche to help journalists cover the marathon. A third media centre will be located at Wyndham Hotel. He stressed that the journalists will receive their accreditations on September 16.
Fans can buy tickets online now to ensure that they don’t miss out on any of the competition of the IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019, which runs from September 27 to October 6. The easy online process begins here: https://iaafworldathleticschamps.com/doha2019/
Spectators can share their photos and fun from the World Athletics Village online by following the official channels @IAAFDoha2019 and #AimBeyond
