‘Moment of pride’ for Qatar as World Cup 2022 fever takes over
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Hashim Sheikh
- . November 16, 2022
- . Update: November 17, 2022 1:12 am
A preview of what Qatar will be like during the World Cup, which begins on Sunday, has been taking place on its streets for the previous few weeks.
Football fans have begun to arrive, and as a result, restaurants are starting to get crowded and grocery checkout lines are growing longer.
Everything has been covered in World Cup logos, including walls, lampposts, and office buildings. It was a great day for Instagram influencers and photographers at the recently opened Lusail Boulevard, where kids in football uniforms ran around and football fans strolled under a huge canopy of competing nations’ flags.
Read | FIFA World Cup 2022: LGBTQ rights and alcohol issues in Qatar
A massive installation of La’eeb, the World Cup mascot, pouring out a cup of Arabic coffee is one of the boulevard’s main draws. Families line up and wait politely for their chance to take pictures next to the beaming La’eeb.
The renowned Corniche neighbourhood has also begun to celebrate. Families and adults are strolling up and down the coastal promenade while taking in light displays and listening to DJs play techno music.
Throughout the World Cup, daily entertainment events will be held at the waterfront location, which will be a popular tourist destination.
Shops and restaurants at Souq Waqif, the main tourist destination in the nation, are packed with visitors well into the evening. Athar, a worker at one local coffee shop, said that in recent days, customers have waited outside their little business till the wee hours of the morning. “We hardly have time for a rest. We never stop serving,” he claims.
