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Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) have begun preparing for the FIA Annual General Assembly and Prize ceremony, which will be held in Doha on December 1-5 this year. |
This is the first time that the annual general assembly of the world motorsport body will be held in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region. Presence of more than 6,000 guests, including heads of clubs and federations from across the world, motorsport stars and world champions from across categories, including Formula 1, rallying, karting, etc. is expected.
The event will be held at St. Regis hotel in Doha. A year ago, the hotel was also the venue for the 10th anniversary celebrations of MotoGP in Qatar.
A large international media presence is expected, especially at the prize ceremony, where the world champions are presented with their awards for their season-long efforts.
The first three days will see several meetings between the delegates before the Annual General Assembly on December 4. The prize-giving ceremony will be held on December 5.
It will be the first time that the prize-giving ceremony will be divided into two parts — first part to honour the organisers and various committees, and second for the world champions followed by the gala dinner.
The programme will also include activities at various other venues across Doha, including a visit to the Museum of Islamic Art and Katara Cultural village. The fans will have an opportunity to get autographs of the world champions at Katara beach.
Doha was chosen for the all-important FIA event of the year at Marrakesh in April this year. The other countries in the fray were Mexico, Brazil, Australia, Cyprus and Japan.
QMMF president Nasser Khalifa al-Attiyah said that he wishes that the global event will create global interest in sport lovers from all over the world in Doha, with the event being broadcast live on several sports channels.
“It took a big effort to persuade members of the General Assembly to approve our request to host this event, especially given that so many countries also bid. But we succeeded and were praised in getting the confidence of everyone, including the FIA,” al-Attiyah said.
He added: “There is no doubt that the great support of our wise leadership, particularly HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Thani and the athletes was an advantage for our case. I think that all the unions are well aware of the capabilities of Qatar in the field of sports.
“It is also a great opportunity for tourism promotion as the event will attract thousands of attendees from around the world. Also, the event will be broadcasted in many countries, which will contribute to the promotion of our country.
“We all hope that this celebration will be a big success, and we want to thank the support of Prime Minister and Interior Minister HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, HE Sheikh Joann bin Hamad al-Thani, Minister of Youth and Sports HE Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali and BeIN Sport director general Nasser al-Khelaifi.”
