Doha, Qatar – The FIFA Fan Festival was held as a “trial” in Doha ahead of the World Cup Qatar 2022, which starts on Sunday.
The fan festival area will serve as a public viewing and gathering area where all matches will be shown. FIFA has included stadiums as part of the competition since the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Hundreds lined up on Wednesday for the event at Al-Bidda Park, with organizers expecting 20,000 people to attend the test held at the venue, which can hold around 40,000 fans.
The venue has a large screen to watch World Cup matches, with views of Doha in the background. Food courts, cultural exhibitions, and a FIFA museum have also been set up for visiting fans.
John Macintosh, who is from Scotland but lives in Qatar, said outside the stadium on Wednesday that he had attended the trials to “get a feel” for how the festival and the fan-favorite areas would fare during the World Cup.
“We are here to see how the place will look during the World Cup… how it will be prepared,” the 51-year-old told Al Jazeera, who was there with his wife Maka and two children.
Indian citizen Ashwin Kumar, 35, who also lives in Qatar, said that since the World Cup and similar celebrations are taking place in his “second home”, he feels he has to face it.
“I’m looking forward to having a good time today and the rest of the month… I have 13 tickets for the race,” he added.
