Rio de Janeiro: Bayt Qatar, the hospitality house of Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) at Rio 2016 Olympics, has completely sold out until the end of the Games on August 21 and proceeds will go to a Brazilian NGO.
The QOC is looking into how capacity can be increased so that more people have the opportunity to visit the hospitality house.
Bayt Qatar is showcasing Qatari culture and heritage and offering exciting daily activities, including Arabic calligraphy, basket weaving and henna hand painting in the souq area.
Visitors and Brazilian fashion fans have enjoyed unique events such as the exquisite fashion show on Saturday, thanks to fashion retailer Al Siddiqi, which combined traditional and contemporary Qatari designs to highlight the creativity and innovation of the Qatari fashion industry.
Bayt Qatar’s arts and crafts workshop attracted many youngsters to Casa Daros — the historic building that hosts the hospitality house — for an afternoon of family-friendly fun. Older visitors enjoyed beautiful melodies of the Kervansarai Band whose music is inspired by cultural relations among Western and eastern civilisations.
Guests were also able to sample a fine-dining experience provided by world-renowned chefs Alex Atala and Aysha Al Tamimi, and an intimate performance by the Doha String Quartet.
Team Qatar’s athletes also toured and dined at Bayt Qatar, including skeet shooting star and Olympic bronze medallist Nasser Al Attiyah, swimmers Nada Arakji and Noah Al Khulaifi, weightlifter Fares Ibrahim, the handball team, the beach volleyball team, and flagbearer and equestrian Sheikh Ali bin Khalid Al Thani. The QOC’s national partners Ooredoo, Qatar Airways and QIC Group, and official suppliers Al Siddiqi and Qatar Airways Holidays are hosting their activities and exhibitions.
Media Partner Al Kass is broadcasting live from Bayt Qatar daily so that everyone back in Qatar can keep up to date with what is happening.
Education Above All will organise a ‘Challenges & Reality’ exhibition and bring children from its project in Brazil to experience Qatari culture and a Garangao night.
Doha-based International Centre for Sports Security (ICSS) will organise special events for its Save the Dream charity, and the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy (SC) will showcase the progress towards the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Qatar Foundation, Al Shaqab, Qatar Museums, Katara, Doha Film Institute, Aspire, Aspetar, We Are Doha, SC, and ADLQ have contributed films, photos and content to help showcase the very best of Qatar.
Fees on entry to Bayt Qatar will be donated to Futuro Olimpico, an NGO in Rio de Janeiro founded by Olympic medallist Arnaldo de Oliveira to take athletics to students of Rio’s public schools and provide them with education medical, social, and psychological assistance.
QOC, Qatar Athletics Federation and Aspire Academy have partnered with Futuro Olimpico and the Rio de Janeiro Athletics Federation to establish ‘Shine’, a project which will provide an opportunity for underprivileged young athletes from Rio de Janeiro to train at world-class facilities at Aspire Academy for Sporting Excellence, with specialised coaching and sports science support.
Through Shine, QOC hopes to leave a compelling legacy from the Rio Games after which Bayt Qatar will become a bilingual public school – Eleva School – and as a further legacy, QOC will donate a library to the school.
The Peninsula
