This August prepare for a month-long festival of events and promotions specially arranged by Qatar Tourism Authority. Qatar Summer Festival will have a range of events including Entertainment City, shopping festivals at local malls, live shows and special hotel packages. Running from 1 – 31 August, Qatar Summer Festival will provide special sales and weekly raffles at malls around Qatar.
Chief Marketing and Promotions Officer at QTA, Rashed Al Qurese, emphasised that the ‘collaborations for the Qatar Summer Festival extend to our partners in the public and private sector to turn what is historically a lower-occupancy period into a colourful season full of cultural events and family-friendly entertainment.’
Qatar Summer Festival 2015
Whilst the aim of QSF 2015 is to encourage regional tourism during the off-peak season, local residents have not been left out. An expected highlight is Entertainment City, featuring activities for children at the Doha Exhibition Centre including skate boarding, rock climbing, as well as crafts, games and stage shows.
Mall Events and Raffles
Eight malls, including Hyatt Plaza, The Mall, Al Khor Mall, The Gate Mall, Ezdan Mall, Villaggio, Landmark and Gulf Mall (as well as select stores at The Pearl-Qatar) will be participating in the shopping promotions and raffle draws. The participating malls will host dedicated QSF 2015 zones for children to ‘Colour Their Summer’.
Several malls will be offering either sales up to 50% in various stores or other promotions on selected brands such as “Buy One – Get One Free.” Participating stores will be recognizable through the QSF 2015 slogan “Colour Your Summer” which will be visible on their doors or windows. The promotions will continue until the last day of QSF on August 31st.
Shoppers who spend QAR 200 at any store, whether participating in the promotions or not, will be eligible to enter a raffle draw for one of 40 prizes including a BMW 7 Series, a Mini Cooper, a QAR 50,000 cheque and a QAR 10,000 cheque. The total of cash prizes amounts to over QAR 700,000.
Qatar Summer Festival Dates and Timings of Raffle Draws:
Raffle draws will take place every weekend at Ezdan Mall (August 6), The Mall (August 13), Gulf Mall (August 20), and Villaggio (27 August) between 7:30pm – 8:30pm. In addition to the main raffle event, roaming hostesses will be selecting random shoppers to join a side draw that will offer winners shopping vouchers of up to QR 5,000. To be selected for the draw, their bill (or total amount of bills) doesn’t have to reach QR 200.
Information desks will be erected in all malls to answer customers’ queries. Customers can exchange their receipts with vouchers at the information desk (the number of vouchers depends on the amount of receipts) and drop them in the designated draw barrel.
Lively events are planned around the draws, complete with a variety of shows from Origami artists, Harp and Violin performers, speed painting, interactive show projections, German wheel, fighting gravity, aerial show, football freestyle. Additional roaming shows will also take place such as the Oriental Parade and Stilt Walkers, Oriental Parade, Circus performers, Stilt clown trio and Circus Parade. Performances will take place the Hyatt Plaza and Villaggio in Week 1, and Ezdan and Gulf Mall in Week 2.
Entertainment City
Located at the Doha Exhibition Centre, the indoor Entertainment City will be a family fun destination, consisting of entertainment sections for rides and games, shopping and food. The rides section will include inflatable rides, soft play games, and skill and video games.
The shopping section will be in the form of a mini ‘Trade Fair’ that includes about 125 outlets selling varied products including handicrafts, clothing, perfumes and accessories.
Games price range is between QR5-QR25
Qatar Summer Festival – Entertainment City Opening hours:
Saturday – Wednesday between 1pm-11pm
Thursday – Friday between 1pm – 12 am
Rides include bumper cars, a rollercoaster and a mini-swing carousel among others. You must purchase a QR2 card that can be topped up with money that can be used only on the rides and games. For the carnival games participants can win prizes by knocking over pyramids of tin cans, throwing a ring over the neck of a bottle, or lobbing bouncy balls into buckets.
There is also a food court with varied cuisines available; dishes range from QR 10 to QR30.
In addition, Entertainment City will include a stage with live performances with a new show every week, with performances taking place from 2.00pm – 9.30pm. The first week will kick off with Dora the Explorer, the second week will welcome Barney & Friends, the third week will see performances by Lazy Town and the last and fourth week will welcome the Teletubbies.
Live Arab Music Concerts
As part of Qatar Summer Festival 2015, the QTA is also hosting two live concerts on 27 and 28 August 2015, featuring the Arab world’s top singers. Tickets go on sale Monday Aug 10th at Virgin Megastores.
Music fans with a taste for Gulf tunes can buy tickets for a concert on August 27, featuring performances by the half Yemeni, half Emirati artist Balqees Fathi, and the popular Saudi artist Rabeh Sager. Renowned Syrian artist Asala Nasri and up-and-coming Moroccan star Saad Lamjerd will perform on August 28. Both concerts take place at Ali bin Hamad Al Attiyah arena, near Al Sadd Sports Club, which seats up to 7,700 spectators. EDIT: Please note that the venue for the Qatar Summer Festival Concerts have been changed to Qatar National Convention Centre due to technical difficulties.
Where to buy Tickets for Qatar Summer Festival Concerts?
Ticket prices for the shows, which begin at 9.00 pm range between QAR 199 and QAR 1,499. Doors will open at 7.00pm and special seating areas reserved for ‘women only’ will be available – no entry for children under 6 years. Tickets for the show will be on sale at Virgin Megastores branches and on the stores’ online ticketing portal.
Doha Comedy Show – hosted by Qatar’s Hamad Al Emari.
In addition, on 29 August 2015, QTA is hosting a Doha Comedy Day featuring the region’s top comedians. Six stand-up comedians from around the Gulf will perform at the evening event, which takes place at Qatar National Convention Centre on August 29 at 8.00 pm (doors open at 7.00pm). The comedians are Badr Saleh, Ibrahim KhairAllah, and Fahd Al Betiri from Saudi Arabia; Ali Al Sayed from the United Arab Emirates and Ahmed Al Shimari from Kuwait. The group will offer concentrated doses of humour along with their Qatari host, Hamad Al Emari.
Where to buy Tickets for Doha Comedy Show?
Tickets for the show are available at the Doha Exhibition Centre, they will also be on sale at Virgin Megastores branches and on the stores’ online ticketing portal. Ticket prices range between QAR 145 (silver), QAR 195 (gold) and QAR 295 (platinum). VIP and Royal seats are also available. No entry for under children under 13 years old.
Hotel Packages
Hotel partners have developed special packages for visitors during the Festival – these offers are also available to residents booking for the same period. Make sure you double-check with each venue for further details.
The hotel offers vary between venues but includes at least two of the below offers:
Pay for 2 nights, stay for 3
Pay for 5 nights, stay for 6
Free roundtrip airport transfers
50% discount on selected body treatments and spa outlets
50% discount on food and beverage outlets
Free breakfast
Free kids meals (up to 3 children per family)
Late checkout (5 pm)
Free inter-hotel shuttle service
Qatar Summer Festival – Hotel Promotions:
Al Bidda Boutique Hotel
Al Jasra Boutique Hotel
Al Liwan Suites Hotel
Al Mirqab Boutique Hotel
Best Western Plus Doha
City Inn Al Seef
Concorde Hotel Doha
Crown Plaza Doha
Grand Regal Hotel
Governor West Bay Suites & Residences
Holiday Inn Villa
La Cigale
Marriott Doha
Marsa Malaz Kempinski – The Pearl
Mercure Grand Hotel
Plaza Inn Hotel
Retaj Al Rayyan
Retaj Royale
Ritz Carlton Doha
Sharq Village & Spa
Sheraton Doha Hotel
The Torch Doha
Warwick Doha Hotel
W Hotel & Residence
Wyndham Grand Regency
Zubarah Hotel Doha
Pic Credits: QTA, and Qatar Summer Festival.