Summer wonders offers a whale of a time
Web posted at: 7/4/2005 3:22:10
Source ::: The Peninsula

Doha: Families unable to travel out of Qatar this summer have a lot to look forward to: Pinocchio, Jungle Book, Ali Baba and Beauty and the Beast — the famous shows presented by none other than Universal Studios will be staged in Doha as part of this year's Qatar Summer Wonders. Several new attractions were also added to this year's festival under the theme 'Around the World in 30 Days' with families given priority for entrance.

The festival was flagged off with a soft launch on July 1 and a formal inaugural ceremony will be held at the Diplomatic Club tent on July 10, featuring a parade by some 480 performers from across the globe who have started converging on Doha. Entry to the opening ceremony, however, will be by invitation only for some 500 guests, including VIPs, Jalal Dudin, Project Manager, Qatar Media Services, who are coordinating the events, said at a press conference yesterday.

While a majority of attractions will be staged in the Qatar International Exhibition Centre, others will be spread out over the Landmark Mall, the Mall, Hyatt Plaza and the new entrant, Royal Plaza, he added. The City Center Doha is currently hosting all attractions sponsored by Qatar Telecom.

To make all attractions easily accessible to the general public, the Qatar Tourism Authority will convert the QIEC into a miniature world. Entrance to the venue will be like an airport from where visitors will first visit the Asia section, featuring top notch shows such as Shaolin Monks from the Far East, Asian Circus from China and other attractions from the continent. They will later move to the America region where they can watch the Cowboys show, American circus and others. This section also features the Children's Show area where Universal Studios will stage its various performances. The African dance will be held at the Africa pavilion for a week and an African circus will also feature during the festival with other presentations. From here, visitors can move to the Europe section featuring European clown shows and other performers, including a circus.

Three stages, each with a capacity to seat 300 spectators will be offered at the QIEC, with three different events — the circus, the Illusion Show and the Children's Show. Street entertainers will regale visitors at the centre of the venue. Kids will also have the opportunity to learn skills to perform magic from artists at the Illusion Show. Jalal said, the QIEC will also offer public facilities such as food stalls and the venue can accommodate between 4,000 to 4,500 visitors at a time. All attractions will be ready by 4pm but were expected to start by 5pm, when sufficient people turn up to watch, he said. Entry tickets to the QIEC are priced at QR20 for adults and QR10 for children and include entry to all shows at the venue.

For grown-ups, the QTA has lined up an international jazz festival from July 14 to 16 at the tent of the Diplomatic Club. Six renowned jazz artists, Gross Bras, Randa, In Version, Rabih Abu Khalil, Tania Maria and Zakir Hussain will perform at this event. Zakir Hussain will offer a blend of jazz with traditional Indian musical instruments.