Qatar to be promoted as art, cultural and sporting hub

Qatar will be promoted as a leading global art, cultural and sporting hub, according to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Qatar Museums (QM) and the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC).
QM, under the patronage of its chairperson HE Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani is responsible for developing, promoting and sustaining Qatar’s cultural sector.
The SC is tasked with delivering the infrastructure required for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar. The partnership, designed to build and strengthen the collaboration that already exists between the two organisations, will principally focus on sharing knowledge and expertise.
The SC will work with QM on both a consultancy and service delivery basis. At the same time, QM will support the SC in the development and evaluation of various projects, as well as delivering a number of events and workshops. QM will also be installing a number of artworks in the 2022 FIFA World Cup stadiums as part of the collaboration.
The partnership will provide access for the SC to QM’s resources, facilities and institutions, and allow for joint promotional activities through various channels, including social media and newsletters.
The SC recently organised workshops at the Fire Station, the home of QM’s Artist in Residence Programme. The workshops were led by Qatari artist Faraj Daham and Saudi Arabian artist Saddiq Wasil.
Participants were inspired by the proposed stadium designs, along with the SC’s Al Rayyan Recycled Art Project, which will see deconstructed materials being used to create installations within the new Al Rayyan Stadium and precinct. Attendance at the workshops exceeded expectations, while the work created was outstanding.
QM acting CEO Mansoor bin Ebrahim al-Mahmoud said: "At Qatar Museums, we have always been a great supporter of the SC’s work and this commitment will strengthen the capabilities of both our organisations. Together we share a similar purpose, which is to show that Qatar is open to the world and we look forward to working together more closely in support of this aim.”
The SC’s assistant secretary general for Tournament Affairs, Nasser al-Khater said: “We are proud to be working closely together with Qatar Museums, and this MoU further illustrates the extent to which we are committed to employing the power of sport and culture to enhance Qatar’s hosting capabilities.
The SC also announced on Wednesday that “geotechnical samples” of Dukhan rock dating back around 20 to 30mn years have been unearthed during the construction stage of the Qatar Foundation Stadium in Doha.
“As we dug down deeper on site, we came across interesting and distinct colour bandings on the rock formations,” SC’s Competition Venues project manager Eid al-Qahtani said.
He noted that the rocks they found originated under water, which formed a layer known as the middle-Eocene epoch. The team dug 1.37mn cubic metres of rock, which is about 550 full-sized Olympic swimming pools, at the stadium – the proposed venue up to the quarter-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
“We decided to conduct further research into the ‘Dukhan rock’, which has been identified by a site investigation and geotechnical study.”
He said such finding is unusual since Dukhan rocks can only be unearthed in deeper tunneling works similar to what Qatar Rail had been doing.
A total of 32 excavators had completed the work (17m deep) at the site, “allowing for the pitch to be built at around five to six metres underground.”