When someone turns the heat on you, simply play it cool.
With exactly 365 days to go for the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar poured cold water, nay blew cold air, on those insanely obsessed with the country’s hot climate by showcasing its state-of-the-art cooling system installed at the Khalifa International Stadium yesterday.
Western media reports about sporting events in Qatar are rarely complete without a mention of the high temperatures of the region with many brazenly suspicious of the tremendous progress the country has made over the years. Qatar hosting the IAAF World Championships? How is that even possible? It’s an Arab country. It’s too hot. There are no entertainment options for fans. Blah, blah, blah…
Hopefully, these prejudiced rants will be silenced once and for all after the media were given a first-hand experience of the efficacy of the cooling system and a feel of other preparations at the Khalifa International Stadium where next year’s athletics gala will be held from September 27 to October 6.
Yesterday’s event started at 3pm when it was around a humid 37 degrees Celsius in Doha, but as soon as you walked into the cavernous stadium, the difference was strikingly obvious. With hundreds of large vents installed in all tiers of the stadium blasting out cool air, the temperature was a very pleasant 24-26 degrees. It was as if you were miraculously transported to different clime altogether.
The organising committee had spent the last four days playing host to an IAAF delegation besides team leaders and coaches from 30 nations who were in Qatar to get a feel of the preparations and the facilities available for the athletes.
“Seeing is believing,” Dahlan al-Hamad, Vice President and Director General of the IAAF World Athletics Championships Local Organising Committee and Vice President of the IAAF, told journalists at a press conference to mark 365 days to the event.
He was not just talking about the cooling system, but of the overall preparations as well, saying all systems were already in place to host track and field’s premier event.
“Today is a very important day in our readiness preparations. Ready to be gracious hosts. Ready to connect the world of athletics. Ready to inspire a new generation and ready to welcome athletes and fans from all corners of the world,” he said.
“Qatar is a young and ambitious nation. We hope that seeing is believing and as you can see today we are ready to deliver upon our promises, from our stadium to our airport, our infrastructure to accommodation and our world-famous hospitality. Everything is in place including a growing excitement and energy amongst the local community.
“In hosting the first ever IAAF World Athletics Championships in the Middle East, we have a shared vision and commitment in partnering with the IAAF, to grow participation of this wonderful sport across Qatar, the region and the world.”
Dahlan also emphasised Qatar’s consistent stance that it doesn’t believe in mixing politics with sports when asked whether the Gulf crisis would impact the event.
“Our stance is clear when it comes to sports and politics. We have always said that the IAAF World Championships are for the entire Mena region,” he said.
He added that Qatar’s ambitions are based on its capabilities and its vision, which is not possible without “bold thinking”.
“To have such an ambition requires innovative, creative and bold thinking. That is why this stadium has cooling technology and why we want our young athletes and our local community to experience it live for themselves. That’s why we will introduce a midnight marathon. All these developments take imagination but stem from a single goal of enhancing athletics worldwide.”
Dahlan said that next year’s Asian Athletics Championships in April will be a test event for the World Championships in September-October.
“The stadium is now fully functional. It will be used for the 2019 Asian Athletic Championships in April which will be the official test event for the IAAF World Championships.”
IAAF President Sebastian Coe did not attend the press conference but sent his good wishes.
“Qatar has been hosting official IAAF events for over 21 years and in the organising committee we have a trusted partner who is committed to delivering a World Athletics Championship which makes a real difference to the world of athletics,” he said.
“The fact that this is our first championship in the Middle East is hugely exciting. It means we can and should do things differently and provide an opportunity to reconsider what is possible in terms of new formats to appeal to spectators in the stadium or viewers around the world.
“We are encouraged by what we have seen over this last week and look forward to working with athletes, member federations and partners to deliver an outstanding World Athletics Championships one year from now.”
The logo for the championships was also revealed for the first time, and is the creation of a local, all-female branding team. It aims to capture the attention of young people so that they are motivated to choose athletics.
Commenting on the opportunity for women, Sheikha Asma al-Thani, Director of Marketing and Communications for IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019, said: “Looking around, it is easy to see that a lot has been built. But at the same time a lot of barriers and perceptions of Arab women in sport need changing. Definite progress has been made with new role models emerging all the time, but these invisible barriers still exist.
“Every woman who participates in the first IAAF World Athletics Championship hosted in the Middle East can inspire change and encourage more girls to participate in sport at any level or consider a career trackside in branding, marketing or more. Real change will only be possible by ensuring as many young girls are in the stadium as boys to witness the performances of world champion athletes through their own eyes. And as an organising committee we will be doing all we can to make that happen.”
Organisers also unveiled a ticketing programme offering fans a wide array of options, including majlis-style seatings, finish line seats and discounted tickets for group bookings. Tickets will be available for purchase from November, starting at QR60. A seat near the finish line will cost QR300. Fans can register for tickets on https://iaafworldathleticschamps.com/doha2019/tickets
(Back row, from left) Qatar University professor Dr Saud Abdulghani, American four-time Olympian Aretha Thurmond, Team Qatar athlete Mariam Farid, Doha 2019 vice-president and director general and IAAF vice-president Dahlan al-Hamad and Qatar’s star 400m hurdler Abderrahman Samba pose with kids at a ceremony to mark the one-year countdown to the 2019 IAAF World Championships at Khalifa International Stadium yesterday.
