With live entertainment shows and football-centric activities, visitors to the Mall’s Centre Court and Arena enjoyed an action-packed month of events to celebrate the football festivities during Qatar’s global football event

Doha, Qatar – 31 December 2022: Doha Festival City, Qatar's one and only international choice for shopping, dining, and entertainment, successfully wrapped up its month-long #WorldLetsMeet campaign, having attracted the highest number of local and international crowds to celebrate the international football season through a robust and exciting events programme that was crowned with Qatar National Day celebrations. 

Since its launch on November 17th, the #WorldLetsMeet campaign celebrating the largest football event in the world, welcomed visitors of all ages and from all over the world to engage in activities that took place inside the mall and at the newly opened Doha Festival City Arena.

Robert Hall, Doha Festival City’s General Manager said “Doha Festival City made every effort to offer its visitors an exceptional shopping, dining, and entertainment experience during the football season. We are very lucky to have witnessed this major sporting event that will mark the country’s history. The great enthusiasm of all our football fans amidst the vibrant atmosphere was truly inspirational. We are equally pleased to see the great success of the #WorldLet’sMeet activities and events inside the mall and at Doha Festival City Arena – which was specifically launched for the occasion. In partnership with QIB and Visa as venue sponsors, the Arena gave visitors of all ages an unforgettable family-friendly to watch all matches live and enjoy in the football fever that took over the nation.”

”We are delighted to see families and friends gathering at our Festival City Arena to enjoy the games and spend quality time together. Due to its popularity among our visitors, we promise that the Arena will witness more partnerships and host more sponsored events in the future for the community to continue to enjoy.” concluded Robert.

The Doha Festival City Arena featured an outdoor area brimming with football-centric activities with three large screen, stadium style seating, open picnic tables and bean bags for families to relax and enjoy as well as a host of family fun entertainment with the trampoline park, giant bouncy castle, and games. 

The Arena aired 64 matches live on huge screens drawing more than 50,000 attendees. It also incorporated children’s entertainment options including art and crafts, and live competitions. At the Arena, football fans and friends enjoyed refreshments from a selection of outlets including Oakberry, Cup of Joe, IKEA, and Tabi boba as well as could order from a host of restaurants and cafes such as Shake Shack, Cheesecake Factory, L’eto, Lean and Fit, Karafirin, and Five Guys using the E-butler app. 

The Arena also witnessed the setting a new Guinness World Records™ title on 19 November 2022. To celebrate Qatar’s greatest sporting event and the festivities at Doha Festival City, members, friends, and partners of QIB gathered to assemble the largest soccer ball mosaic (flag) in the world, made with more than 6,000 maroon and white soccer balls to reflect the colors of the flag of Qatar.  The flag was assembled in the Arena at Doha Festival City where representatives from Guinness World Records™ were present to review the attempt and confirm the record. The assembly was open for public viewing throughout the football season.

Inside the mall, the main stage of the Centre Court showcased an impressive lineup of multicultural performances featuring traditional dances, juggling, and balancing acts, magic tricks, a robot show and freestyling. Doha Festival City curated the shows to ensure that they cater to a wide local and international audience of all ages. In addition, the mall was buzzing with activities and parades such as mascots and princess costumes, foosball table games, seated football games, PlayStation games, arcade games, and face painting. 

Doha Festival City partnered with Qatar Islamic Bank and Visa on a once in a lifetime “Spend and Win” campaign providing QIB Visa Card holders and shoppers an additional reason to shop at Qatar’s One and Only Mall of Choice offering a selection of more than 550 retail and dining options from more than 44 countries. A total of 25 lucky winners received 2 tickets each to attend the final match of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ for an experience like no other!

The indoor and outdoor activations continued until the final game on December the 18th where the mall celebrated Qatar National Day with its visitors amidst special decorations and local tunes for the occasion.

To further celebrate the local culture and showcase it to international visitors, Doha Festival City launched a digital campaign on Arabic Language to mark the World Arabic Language Day – celebrated on the 18th of December each year. As part of the #FestivalCares CSR programme, the campaign included multiple awareness messages on the mall’s website and social media channels to raise awareness of the occasion and share some common Arabic words and phrases, as well as the values woven into Arabic culture, including generosity, respect, and hospitality.