DOHA: Qatar hopes to house some of the 1.2 million fans expected to attend the FIFA World Cup later this year in 1,000 “traditional tents”, organisers said on Tuesday.
“This is one of the options that will go live in the next two weeks,” said Omar al-Jaber, an official in charge of accommodation at the tournament’s supreme committee.
“It’s true camping,” he said at a press conference. “We need to give people the experience of being in the desert and sleeping in a Bedouin tent.”
In a country known for extreme summer heat but mild winters, the tents will be equipped with water, electricity, and drainage systems, but no air conditioning.
The World Cup, which will be held from November 21 to December 18, will be the first to be held in the northern winter to avoid summer temperatures that can reach 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit). For football fans visiting the gas-rich Gulf country, another luxury camp with 200 tents is planned.
They will be set up along the Sealine beach in the country’s south, on the outskirts of the desert, with other locations to be announced, according to Jaber.
He also stated that “more than 100,000 rooms” will be available during the tournament,
attempting to assuage concerns about lodging capacity in the tiny emirate. Fans will be able to live in specially designated villages, as well as apartments, villas, cabins, and two cruise ships.
