More than 600 Maersk Oil employees celebrated Qatar National Day with an open-air festival featuring traditional Qatari dancing, food and cultural activities outside the company’s West Bay office.

They were joined by Fahed, mascot of the 2015 World Handball Championship that will be held in Qatar next year, as part of Maersk’s sponsorship of the sporting event.

Sheikh Faisal bin Fahad al-Thani, deputy managing director of Maersk Oil Qatar, said: “Qatar National Day is a time for us all to celebrate the enormous strides we have made towards fulfilling our country’s National Vision 2030 under the wise leadership of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and HH the Father Emir before him.

“Sport has been identified as an integral part of the country’s social and economic development, so I am delighted that Maersk Group, through Maersk Oil in Qatar, is a prestige sponsor of the World Handball Championship 2015 - and that we were joined at our National Day celebration by representatives from the handball championship.”

During the event, Maersk Oil employees celebrated National Day and got a glimpse of what’s in store during the handball championship, which will be held in Qatar from January 15 to February 1, involving 24 teams and broadcast to TV viewers worldwide. Pop-up games featuring handball goals allowed employees to test and compare their skill, accuracy and throwing speed against results from leading handball players coming to Qatar.

With a global audience of up to 1.5bn viewers, sponsoring the 24th Men’s World Handball Championship is a good platform to promote the Maersk brand both locally and internationally, the company has said in a statement.

As part of its sponsorship, Maersk Oil Qatar will activate a number of its local social investment partnership programmes to raise awareness and encourage positive behaviour change, particularly around public health challenges facing Qatar.

For example, the Action on Diabetes screening bus – funded by Maersk Oil Qatar – will be positioned outside the main Lusail handball arena and staffed by healthcare professionals during the championship.

The Students for Road Safety driving simulator, which is funded by Maersk Oil Qatar in support of the Ministry of Interior’s One Second national road safety brand and campaigns, will also be present.  

The championship organisers are also activating a number of local outreach programmes designed to engage the broader community and society in Qatar, including the One Hand, One School programme, which is designed to encourage healthier lifestyles.