Three years ago Qatar used to have the reputation of being the most boring place in the Gulf. Well this Summer has certainly changed all that. The Qatari Government created a summer festival of Fun. The Qatari Government has had a vision to become an integral part of the global world. In order to do this they have thought up various strategies, goals and plans, which has drawn upon the support of existing future developments of various industries within Qatar. One of the most visionary examples of creating new industries is to target the world Tourist from abroad but just not only from the Gulf States but Westerners who are looking to explore somewhere new. Not only are they interested in this but also they are also concerned about the local residents. Hence came the inception of the Qatar Summer Wonders 2002 Festival of Fun. This festival aimed at drawing visitors from GCC countries and as far as Europe.

This Summer Wonders Festival of Fun was held from 15th June to August the 15th it was a spectacular event. Held at several locations throughout the city including The Mall, The Landmark Mall, The City Center Doha and The Exhibition Center all fully air conditioned venues.

Four Hundred participants from all parts of the World transformed Qatar into an intriguing representation of a global family, transcending differences and cultures and coming together as friends to teach us that we can all live together in peace and harmony.

The opening launch featured many surprises including a parade held along the Corniche where the representatives marched in their National Costume led by A Qatari Armed Forces Military Band. Afterwards a mist the noise and the Maraba song, which is a traditional song, sung in the Gulf States to welcome guests the party turned into a carnival of color as the skies were lit up by an explosion of fireworks the likes of which Doha had never witnessed before.
It was estimated that the whole of Qatar had turned out to see the parade. Hours before the traffic stretched for miles trying to find parking. The Police showed fantastic organizational skills in crowd control. They were very helpful and pleasant getting into the carnival atmosphere. In fact more people turned out for the event then was previously
Expected so much so the events organizers had to declare Thursday and Friday as Family Nights, to reduce the amount of people visiting the City Center, the major location for the event.
Throughout the event a Russian Circus performed daily at the City Center. Acrobats amazed the crowds with their dare devil antics over the ice skating rink. As the crowds looked on, the noise of musicians from different countries, such as Thailand and Oman performed colorful exotic dances. Clowns mingled with crowds of twenty thousand people.

Also through out the whole of the Summer Wonders Festival there was a tropical rainforest created at the Doha International Exhibition Center. Here Children were taught about the importance of the Rainforest and the animals that lived there. Some had never seen so many trees in close up which offered the lushness of greenery, and made a refreshing distracting change from the hot desert sun. Outside children could ride on horses and camels.

Also at the city center there was created a GCC International Village. Here all the participants representing their respective countries demonstrated the crafts food and culture of their country. At the Iranian stand there was a demonstration of how Persian carpets are made. The Moroccans stand contained beautiful brightly colored, hand painted plates. They also showed how they made Rose oil. All around the visitor was dancing and the aroma of different foods being prepared and sold.
Entertainments were targeted for the entire family, Flamenco dances from Spain wooed audiences with their seductive dances. And the Egyptian belly dances were also fantastic; it was WOMAD in Doha Qatar.

Also most of the retail outlets within the city were allowed to hold a third sale with lots of discounts to create a shopping festival, such as the ones held in Dubai and in Kula Lumpur. Every night there was a prize draw of 1.3.million Qatari Riyals given as prize money. Other cash prizes were given from other sporting events.
There were also Arabic pop bands and famous Arabic singers gave free concerts at various locations around Doha.

The final day the whole of the Malls were festooned with balloons as forty thousand people crowded into the city center. Ques of cars lined the street waiting to get into the City center. The estimate on waiting time was one hour as the local population wanted to be a part of this historic event. Inside people had brought chairs and picnics to enjoy the night's festivities. The finale featured a special performance of a Russian Ballet and a famous Arabic singer song to the crowds. As the last minutes of the closing ceremonies fireworks lit up the sky and balloons and confetti tumbled down on the excited crowd.

If you wish to experience culture, heritage and fun and something different come to Qatar as amazing things are happening here.