The Doha 2019 Bid Committee have today unveiled their innovative plans for the staging of a night marathon should they be successful in winning their Bid to host the 2019 IAAF World Championships. The concept involves using special lighting solutions to illuminate the whole route and showcase the event like never before.
BeIN SPORTS, Qatar’s premium television network dedicated to sport and a partner of Doha 2019, will manage the production. Lighting will be placed throughout the route to ensure optimum conditions for spectators and judges and spectacular viewing for live spectators and global TV audiences alike.
The route will run along the waterfront of Doha’s famous Corniche connecting Doha Bay and Doha City Centre, providing a stunning backdrop for the entirety of the race. This setting will also create the opportunity for the staging of side-events and activities, entertaining and engaging spectators and enabling partners to connect with spectators through sponsorship activation, displays and advertising. Large TV screens and live projection on Doha’s towers will be placed at regular intervals along the route so that spectators can keep up to date with coverage of the event, whilst enjoying a festival atmosphere. This will put the public right at the heart of the marathon and create a truly unique experience for athletes, spectators and officials.
Darkness falls at 6pm in Doha meaning that the event will be staged at a perfect time for spectators to attend the race, as well as for TV scheduling. Following the race, Doha 2019 plans to hold a balloted mass-participation event for the community, with youth, 5k, 10k and half marathon distances. This will enable the whole community to have the opportunity to become part of the World Championship experience and Doha 2019 branded participation medals will give thousands a hint of what it is like to be crowned a World Champion.
The public road-race event will become an annual fixture on Doha’s calendar as part of National Day, enabling the World Championships to live on long in the memory of Doha’s community and ensuring a true legacy for Qatar and the region from the World Championship marathon. Furthermore, the unique lighting solution will provide a legacy for the hosting of marathons around the world to enable them to fit with a city’s lifestyle, climate and broadcasting needs.
President of the Qatar Athletics Federation, Dahlan Al Hamad, said:
“It is our aim to host a World Championships that uses innovative solutions to showcase athletics like never before. Our new concept for hosting an illuminated night marathon will provide a unique opportunity to engage our whole community through the marathon, inspiring them by the world-class sport that they witness and encouraging them to lead active and healthy lifestyles through the promotion of a public mass-participation road-running event. Doha is well-equipped to stage an exceptional World Championship marathon for the world’s best athletes, in a stunning setting that will capture an unprecedented spectacle for the world of athletics.”
Doha is not the first city to host a night-marathon with the Olympic marathon in Rome 1964 and the World Championship marathon in Edmonton 2001 both being successfully hosted after dark. However, this is the first time in history that a night-time marathon would be illuminated for the entirety of the route, using the expertise of BeIN SPORTS.
BeIN SPORTS would be the host broadcaster of Doha 2019. It has 50 channels across 33 countries and 4 regions and is 100% high definition. It aims to reinvent the way audiences access and watch sport on all screens and uses technological innovations for a better sport experience. BeIN SPORTS is committed to offering the best sport experience with a total immersion in the event.
Doha is competing against bids from Eugene, USA, and Barcelona, Spain. The cities each submitted their Candidature Files on 25th September and received a visit from the IAAF Evaluation Commission last month. The final decision will be taken by the IAAF Council at its meeting in Monaco on 18th November 2014.
You can follow the Bid’s progress and support #Doha2019 in connecting the world of athletics through these handles:
Twitter: @Doha_2019
Facebook: Doha 2019
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