Kick-off to a new Doha Set to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022, the Qatari capital is on the cusp of change,

Kick-off to a new Doha

Set to host the FIFA World Cup in 2022, the Qatari capital is on the cusp of change,

Most of my time in Doha was spent either in an air-conditioned bus that took me through the city’s lanes, dotted with towering skyscrapers and five star hotels, or inside the plush rooms of those hotels. A few things I learned quickly about the city: no one really walks in Doha, not before 6pm anyway. The heat is excruciating, especially in the months before winter, which starts November. Riding on the bus, I could see that living in Doha is like living in two cities at the same time. A large part of it presents largely Islamic architecture, with pale-coloured single or two-storeyed buildings concealing lavish interiors. The other part is all looming structures, coming up at a frantic pace. Among clusters of skyscrapers are more skyscrapers, many of them in different stages of construction. It’s a new development, our tour guide tells us, as part of Doha’s 2030 plan. It seems like the city wants to be the new Dubai, only better. The plan got a boost with Qatar winning the bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the smallest nation ever to have done so. The country aims to have a fully functional metro system across the city before the start of the WC, the first of its kind in the Middle-East. But it’s the skyscrapers that are transforming the skyline the most; 300 of them are planned with more than 100 already in the final stages of development. And all of this for a city that doesn’t even have too many people living there yet, but is just preparing for the influx. Qatar’s oil and natural gas resources have kept it self-sufficient and thriving, but it seems they are looking at newer avenues now. The Qatari administration, I was told, wants to encourage international MNCs to enter Doha and create job opportunities for locals, and to attract people from other countries to come and work there. But there are cultural considerations to be kept in mind. The city has a strict code of conduct. Alcohol is available only in five star hotels, and only to select Qataris with permits to consume it indoors. Will opening up Doha to foreigners change all that? If a Dubai-like lifestyle has to be adopted, Doha needs to find a middle path where the religious and cultural traditions it so values can co-exist with modernity and the influx of a diverse population. The World Cup seems like the perfect excuse for change. Alcohol laws will be relaxed for the event, for example, the first time ever. For the kind of experience that Dubai offers, where tourists and locals feel liberated in addition to living a comfortable life, Doha needs to adapt. And it looks like it’s ready for it too. It’s a city in transition, one that isn’t content to be identified as rich, but wants to be considered accessible too.