By Raynald C Rivera
DOHA: Qatar Summer Festival (QSF) 2016 kicked off in a spectacular fashion last night, with a colourful opening of the festival’s biggest Entertainment City at Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre (DECC) capped by a breathtaking fireworks display on the Corniche.
Some street performers donning striking costumes while others carrying giant inflatable mascots roamed around the venue as dabka performers danced along the beat of the drums in unison, entertaining hundreds of children and families.
The huge turnout came as a pleasant surprise to top officials of Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) at the launch.
“We thought we will not have lots of guests at the opening event but we were surprised in a good way.
“Many people came to DECC looking forward to the opening of Entertainment City. We hope that they will enjoy and not go out disappointed,” Mashal Shahbik, Director, Festival and Tourism Events, QTA, told the media at event.
Hundreds of multi-coloured balloons, along with silver confetti, were released marking the launch of the month-long festival aimed at driving domestic and inboud tourism and cement Qatar’s position as a top family destination.
With a bigger and more accessible venue, QTA is hoping there will be an increase in the number of visitors to the amusement centre.
“Last year the Entertainment City witnessed 200,000 visitors. We hope the number will increase this year,” said Shahbik.
Located at DECC’s 29,000sqm exhibition halls, the Entertainment City is divided into 11 zones offering skill, inflatable and video games, and family and thrill rides, among others.
Among the new games are virtual reality games, karaoke, boxing, iPad gaming, remote-controlled car race, Go Kart, Candy Crush, Angry Birds and inflatable water games.
Daily multi-cultural performances will entertain visitors who can savour a mélange of international flavours at a food court featuring 26 stalls.
The Entertainment City is open until the end of this month, from 1pm until 11pm except Fridays when it will close at midnight.
Entry fee is QR15 which is consumable. All-access pass which enables the bearer access to all games and rides is available for QR120.
The Entertainment City is a major highlight of this year’s festival organised by QTA under the theme ‘Colour Your Summer’.
Other features of the festival are hotel and shopping promtions to boost Qatar’s hospitality and retail sectors during the off-peak season.
Fifty-six hotels have lined up special packages, including ‘pay for two nights and stay for three’ in hotels, and ‘pay for five nights and stay for six’ in hotel apartments.
Lagoona Mall, Landmark Mall, Gulf Mall, Ezdan, Al Khor Mall, Hyatt Plaza, City Centre Doha, Dar Al Salam and The Pearl-Qatar are offering shopping promotions, entertainment and weekly draws which will give away over QR2mn worth of prizes, including four Jaguar cars and QR800,000 cash prizes.
Another highlight of the festival is ‘Street Madness’ to be held on August 12 at Gharrafa Sports Club. There will be short football matches led by social media influencers and performances by artistes and comedians.
Eighteen of the best Arab stand-up comedians are set to tickle the funny bone with a three-day Doha Comedy Festival from August 18 until 20 at Qatar National Convention Center. Tickets costing between QR145 and QR1,000 are available at Virgin Megastore.
The festival concludes on August 31, with a fireworks display on the Corniche.
The Peninsula
