Admit it, you love get-togethers and the thought of being one with the crowd excites and sweats you off at the same time! Well guess what, the ILQ team likes that idea too as the ILQ Network was born out of the CEO's desire to connect the locals to the expats, one of our core obligations as a community website is to organize events which can ultimately fulfill Mr.Q's above-mentioned vision.
So if you're looking for the ultimate melting pot website which promotes gatherings and everything social, then you're in the right place!
Today, we're bringing you an extra-special roundup of the 10 reasons why people in Qatar usually gather in one place. May it be to compete, celebrate, or reflect, we've got you covered!
Keep scrolling, you might just find something really interesting that could unleash a more outgoing version of yourself!
Life anywhere in the world would be meaningless without food—every human being's ultimate energy booster! Luckily in Qatar, as the population is too diverse, you'll surely never run out of options to choose from! One of the country's biggest annual food festival QIFF held its ninth edition from March 15 to March 25 of this year and featured more than 177 stalls, food trucks, and trolleys extending over Hotel Park Doha's 80,000 sq m for 11 record days! Now that's what you call a lit food flood!
Despite having the now one-year-old blockade in place, the Qatari film industry was still able to flourish, according to Doha Film Institute CEO Fatma al-Remaihi. Living up to her statement is the annual Ajyal Youth Film Festival which brings together children as young as 6 years to watch and critique movies. 2017's edition was the biggest so far as 103 films from all around the world—short and feature lengths—were screened at Katara Cultural Village with the number of little Ajyal jurors growing from 300 in 2013 to 550 last year.
Remember last year when the grand opening of the second branch of Sharaf DG in Doha was canceled due to a huge turnout of customers? Unexpected situations like this are most likely to happen once people learn that a certain store is having a SALE especially during an inauguration when stocks are new and fresh from the warehouse. Discounts and offers are fun and pocket-friendly, but we need to take it easy, people! Safety first before great deals.
It will be an acceptable thing to say that football has become Qatar's national sport after it won the bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup—or even before that. Anywhere you look, Doha's corners and alleyways are infested with men, women, and children who are glued to the TV screen while watching a LIVE football match especially now that the sport is in season again. And if you ever woke up to a loud cheer from a group people in Qatar, the noise is most likely from football fanatics who are in jubilation over their favorite team's latest goal.
Millenials in Qatar were in cloud nine when Shop Qatar announced late last year that they're bringing EDM pop duo Alex and Andrew (more commonly known as The Chainsmokers) to the country as part of their second edition celebration. It was the American hitmakers' first-ever gig in the Middle East and they brought around 5,000 party goers under one roof while delivering a thundering sold-out show for their Doha fans. We can't wait for Shop Qatar's import next year!
One apparent reason why Qatar is still sustainable even after the blockade is partly because of the people who are more than willing to help one another without expecting anything in return. Volunteerism, for example, is a great way to gather, meet new friends, and contribute something beneficial to the community. This is why it's firmly believed that kindness has the ability to move mountains, especially when done altogether.
The practice of praying is obviously very much universal but it's only in Muslim countries like Qatar where you will see devotees coming altogether to contemplate—even in public! Non-Muslim expatriates who personally witness such act can ultimately learn from this, the same way that their Muslim brothers and sisters can positively benefit from the many foreign influences around them.
Qatar is blessed with four national holidays, namely Eid Al-Fitr, Eid Al-Adha, National Day, and Sports Day. What locals and residents usually do during these days—besides staying home all day as they're not required to go to work—is to really go out there and participate in the many activities in stored for them and the whole family. The tendency is to create heavy traffic on the major streets but in the end, it's the joy of seeing all sorts of people all in one place commemorating one common thing. May it be the end of the Holy Month, the country's unification, or simply being active for a day.
Last year, our very own ILoveQatar.Net made possible the biggest gathering of social media influencers and content creators in Qatar with the first edition of the Qatar Social which was held in Qatar Museum's Mathaf: Arab Musuem of Modern Art. If you were one of the lucky attendees of the landscape-changing event, you'll surely remember how jam-packed Instagram's location feature that time was as every active Instagrammer is pinned in only one location. We're looking forward to the second edition of Qatar Social which is reportedly scheduled mid-November!
The epic photograph you see above was taken during one of the most well-attended editions of the Emir Cup—a tournament played every season in the country. As you may have noticed, people have dedicated a one whole sport event just for the Emir and the list keeps getting longer. When HH gave his post-blockade speech last year, locals and residents cheered their hearts out and were very vocal in saying that they're lucky to have Sheikh Tamim as their leader. Shortly upon his return from the US, there was an unbelievable number of people who welcomed him in the Corniche. These efforts just prove how willing Emir's devotees are to come together and make a difference for their beloved Qatari leader.
You can follow the Emir on Instagram here.
To know why Qatar is a happy place to live in, click here.
To know the 10 things that you can get for FREE in Qatar, click here.
To know the positive effects of the blockade to Qatar and to its people, click here.
Do you like get-togethers as well? If no, did this article help you find a reason to go out there and become more social? Drop us a line in the comments below and also, don't forget to like and share this article—it keeps us going!
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