The Qatar Marine Festival is an annual cultural, educational and water centric extravaganza intended to promote Qatari marine heritage and cultural identity. The marine festival is the innovation of the Qatar Marine Festival Organizing Committee (QMFOC) and represents the jewel in the crown of QMFOC's activity calendar.
Visitors to the Festival can enjoy an array of attractions that seek not only to entertain but to educate with the QMFOC endeavor in five areas of attention: education, culture, environment, entertainment and sport.
The Festival venue is completely pedestrianised and time of the festival is during the Doha spring which is the perfect climate in which to enjoy the attractions which contain edutainment, environmental elements, sports and culture.
This marine celebration also features Qatari professionals showing the public about pearl fishing methods, the art of weaving fishing nets and dhow building techniques, together with a huge range of exciting attractions. This will be a perfect evening for the visitors to meander around the festival grounds viewing the sand art, seal show, huge sea creature displays, miniature golf, dancing waters and much more. The entry to the event is free, which provides many families an opportunity to enjoy fantastic activities with their children that maybe they couldn't otherwise afford. After walking around, visitors can grab a bite to eat and sit unperturbed on the wall at the water’s edge, watching people while soaking up the carnival atmosphere.
How to Go?
Qatar marine festival is hosted at the Katara Cultural Village which is located in the eastern coast between West bay and the Pearl. There is a gated entrance opposite Doha Exhibition Center and through Lusail Street there is another entrance (continuation of Al Istiqlal St).
Major Events in the Festival
Secrets of the Sea Musical Play
This was the best part of the marine festival and this enjoyable musical was based on the Qatar history. With over 300 performers and staff, 99 percent original music, 300 costumes, 16,000 hours of rehearsals and high-tech staging, this 2 hrs long fantastic musical could have been very well comparable to plays on Broadway. Although it was in Arabic, it was easy to follow. The musical play highlighting Qatar Marine Festival seized the attention of both local and international audience. Secrets of the Sea , is a exceptional fusion of Qatari and international music as it is born out of close collaborative work between Qatari and Italian artists, fostering cultural exchange and creates an important artistic bridge between the two countries.
The scenery of the stage was a striking juxtaposition of the marine and Islamic heritage of Qatar and its recent industrial growth. Italian composer Renato Serio has collaborated with Qatari music composer Faisal al Tamimi to compose the music for the ballet. The other main features that made the ballet so fascinating were the sparkling choreography by Landi, the dancing skills of both Italian and Qatari dancers, who never failed to match their steps with one another in addition a brilliant narrative method giving an emotional tinge to the ballet.
Seal Shows
The Qatar Marine Festival involves a range of 16 attractions striving to appeal to all nationalities and age groups. The festival also featured a Siberian performing seal shows for the first time which was a hit among the children.
The Organizing Committee had kept this event as a surprise package for visitors. The one-hour long acrobatic display by the fish-loving Siberian seals was set on Arabic tunes. The four Siberian seals led by their trainers Irina, Larissa and Victor, performed two shows at 6 pm and 9.45 pm every evening till the conclusion of the festival. The seals performed a series of well rehearsed tricks and stunts, breath taking jumps, performing balancing acts and Russian ball dancing as well as water ballet much to the delight of the audience.
There was also a ten-day training workshop for youth about various techniques on paper, ceramic, copper, painting and other arts. Various sand artists from all over the world made large statues for the public on a daily basis depicting life in Qatar and the gulf. A maritime library was also open for the spectators with a range of publications on marine life.
Contact Details
Address: 2nd Floor, Regency Building, Suhaim Bin Hamad Street, P.O.Box 28822, Doha
Email: [email protected]
