Doha, November 17 (QNA) – Director of Cultural Affairs and Events at the Cultural Village Foundation (Katara) Khalid Abdulrahim Al Sayed affirmed that Katara activities accompanying the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 are the culture pulse in this tournament, which is being held on an Arab soil for the first time in the history.
In an interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA), Khalid Abdulrahim Al Sayed referred to the programme schedule of the cultural village, Katara, during the world’s most famous tournament, noting the extent of relationship between culture and sports and the commonalities between them.
The schedule includes more than 300 activities during 51 key events, he added.
In this regard, he explained that Katara’s activities accompanying the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in its 22nd edition are unprecedented, and commensurate with the great event watched by millions around the world, whether from Doha or abroad, given that this edition is being held for the first time in an Arab country, which makes it imperative for the State of Qatar to have a greater responsibility in showing and introducing Arab culture through the activities accompanying the World Cup. These activities should include events that suit the tastes of visitors who came to Qatar from various countries from different continents of the world to watch the tournament closely, he said, adding that this emphasizes that Katara will be the culture pulse during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
The origin is in the pluralistic culture, so every human activity can be philosophized or understood from a cultural perspective, such as the culture of peace, the culture of human rights, cultural heritage, and so forth, Al Sayed said, explaining that the concept of culture is constantly evolving with the development of communication means between human beings, hence every activity that encourages understanding in the spirit of mutual respect between people is included in the list of cultural activity.
He underlined that football gained its popularity due to its effectiveness in promoting social and cultural life and bringing together individuals and societies, and therefore, Qatar’s sports clubs used to market themselves through cultural and social roles, in addition to their sports activities.
Sport also plays an active role in overcoming differences and encouraging dialogue between people, thus helping to eliminate prejudgments, stereotypes, cultural differences, ignorance, intolerance and discrimination against others, as sports of a global nature such as the World Cup encourage dialogue between cultures, which is a means of promoting awareness, understanding, reconciliation and tolerance among peoples, Director of Cultural Affairs and Events at Katara said.
He stressed that it can be said with confidence that culture has found expression in sports matches, and the nature of competition takes a peaceful turn, noting that sport converges with culture, as it is not limited to strengthening the bodies only, but extends to refining the minds and souls through cultural and artistic events which usually accompany sporting activities of a global nature.
Regarding the programme schedule of Katara activities accompanying the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Al Sayed said that Katara has prepared 51 events that cover more than 300 cultural, artistic and heritage activities distributed among five key branches, including festivals, ceremonies, exhibitions, live presentations and other events, noting that some events are dedicated to people who are interested in football and its history, but this does not mean that the rest of the events may not attract this category of people, and vice versa, reflecting the intersections between culture and sports.
Director of Cultural Affairs and Events at the Cultural Village Foundation (Katara) Khalid Abdulrahim Al Sayed told QNA that there are sport-related activities for those interested such as the Football Art and Collection Exhibition and the World Cup Postage Stamps Exhibition, in addition to the launch of 22 books on the history of the World Cup and sports in general. These activities reflect Katara’s integration between sports and culture.
He explained that Katara Football Art and Collection Exhibition is an interactive exhibition that mixes the football field with art. It includes paintings by local and international artists that embody the enthusiastic atmosphere of the football world, as well as paintings depicting the intense atmosphere in the final matches, which puts exhibition visitors in the atmosphere of previous World Cups, including a glimpse of the hosting cities and landmarks that reflect the civilizations and cultures of these countries’ people, and the art of drawing on the faces of the fans in the stands. The exhibition also includes high-value collections related to the previous World Cup editions. On the sidelines of the exhibition, art workshops will be held for the public, so that they learn about the relationship between football and plastic art, through coordination with various parties. The exhibition also includes souvenirs relating to its theme.
The World Cup Postage Stamps Exhibition held at the Arab Postal Stamp Museum, Building No. 22, contains more than 340 stamps from all over the world, of which 280 stamps include all the World Cup tournaments since the first one in 1930, he said. It also includes a distinguished and rare group of World Cup collections, including various souvenirs that are displayed for the first time with the participation of amateurs from Qatar, Italy, and the US, the Director of Events and Cultural Affairs Department at Katara noted.
Through launching 22 books on the World Cup, Katara was keen to enrich the cultural events and shed light on various aspects of the FIFA World Cup, he said, pointing out that the books are issued by Katara Publishing House in both Arabic and English. The titles of the books are Sportswear in the Final Matches, the World Cup Tournaments in Numbers, Goals Immortalized in the World Cup, the World Cup Final Matches, the History of the World Cup from the Beginning to Now, the Reality of what Makes the World Cup in Qatar Special, Ronaldo and Messi Face-to-face, Famous Participating Arab players, World Cup Stamps, Famous Football Captains, Forgotten media in the World Cup, the World Cup, Political Events and Boycotts, FIFA presidents in the World Cup, the World Cup … Traditions, Luxuries and Awards, and the Media Transfer of the World Cup … from the Beginning to Qatar 2022, and the Qatar World Cup 2022 Soft power in the Middle East, Football stars in Qatar, the World meets in Qatar, Traditional sports in Qatar, Sports Caricature, Sports Engineering in the World Cup 2022, and the Culture in the World Cup, he added.
Khalid Abdulrahim Al Sayed pointed out that the content of these books is important and enriches the occasion with valuable information, as they are an addition to the Qatari and Arab libraries, the most prominent of them is the book Football Stars in Qatar, which dealt in a high literary style, with the career of 27 players who formed the first generation to launch football in Qatar. Additionally, the book Sports Engineering in the World Cup 2022 provides an important contribution to the field of sports engineering and explains the sustainability of the eight FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 stadiums, he added.
The book (Ronaldo and Messi Face to Face) also dealt with two world-famous football stars, namely, the Argentine star Lionel Messi and the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, who may play the last World Cup in their career, which adds more excitement and suspense to this version of the tournament.
In his statements to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Director of Cultural Affairs and Events at the Cultural Village Foundation (Katara) Khalid Abdulrahim Al Sayed addressed the connection between sports and the cultural heritage, pointing out that among the activities that Katara will be presenting within its events during the World Cup is the Katara Festival of Traditional Bearings in its 12th edition, with the participation of eight countries, as sailing with boats has been an Olympic sport since the first Olympic Games, which were held in Athens in 1896.
Al Sayed said that the new edition of the festival includes 50 pavilions for the participating countries that include exhibitions of marine heritage collections, other handicrafts, and maritime heritage, in addition to the inclusion of an event on falconry, among the World Cup events, which comes from the authentic Arab cultural heritage. Falconry is a traditional Gulf sport rooted in history, and the skills of its practice are passed on to successive generations. This event was dedicated to introducing the World Cup audience to this traditional sport and it includes presentations of falcon types and methods of training them, in addition to informative presentation on the origins of falconry and its historical roots.
On the other hand, Al Sayed revealed that the non-Arabic speaking audience were not overlooked in Katara’s activities, saying that the cultural village does not design its events on the basis of linguistic or cultural differences, underlining the village’s belief that music and visual arts are a global language that does not require interpretation.
He noted his expectation that Arab festivals would appeal to non-native audience, just as foreign arts would appeal to Arab audience, highlighting- at the same time- Katara’s keenness to organize diversified events to satisfy people’s different tastes during the World Cup tournament.
The events that will be organized in FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 include performances by famous artists from Argentina and Britain for the first time in Qatar, as well as Arab singers, he said, adding that the events will also include dances from Russian folklore, Mexican activities, Bosnian folklore party, and exhibitions of the embassies of many countries, including Paraguay, Uruguay, Iran, Dominican, Indonesia, El Salvador and Ecuador.
Al Sayed expressed his anticipation for a great interaction with Katara’s FIFA World Cup 2022 events, which were thoroughly selected, especially those of a heritage nature, such as Katara’s fashion show, in which many designers from the GCC countries -including Qatar- will participate, as they present designs for women’s fashion inspired by the Qatari heritage, which is characterized by its unique patterns and colors with a hint of modernism.
Katara is known for being an ideal destination to spend fun family time, he said, adding that apart from the cultural events and entertaining programs, the village also provides touristic destinations, such as shopping outlets, hotels, gardens, restaurants of various cuisines, many coffee shops, as well as a lovely beach.
Generally, Katara receives about 10 million visitors annually, with an average of 26,000 visitors per day, Al Sayed said, indicating that larger numbers are expected to be received during the World Cup tournament, while welcoming all to visit Karata Cultural Village. (QNA)