Doha Festival City, the largest entertainment and retail development in the Gulf, is set to open its gates for public in March. The QR6.5bn mixed-use development will be home to more than 500 international and local brands along with entertainment offerings and Food and Beverages (F&B) outlets.

“To date, we are in the final development phase of Doha Festival City and are set to open our doors to the public in March 2017.  On the opening day, the majority of the mall will open including the two main hallways, the Centre Court and North Food Court,” Trevor Hill (pictured), General Manager, Doha Festival City Mall told The Peninsula in an exclusive interview. “We are planning the opening celebrations to commence from this time with ongoing events, entertainment and activities to then take place over the following few months,” he added.

With a gross building area the equivalent size of 94 football pitches, and a gross leasable area of 244,000 square metre, the project is expecting over 20 million guests within the first year of opening  of Doha Festival City, located at north of Doha on Al Shamal Road.
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We have a phased approach to bring our remaining key attractions on line, by April 2017 we will launch the second food court – in the south of the Mall, and the Luxury Wing. The theme parks will also open throughout Q2 (second quarter) – with the immersive digital gaming venue Virtuocity set to be the first of the four, followed by Angry Birds World, Snow Dunes and Juniverse,” he said.
Some of the prominent brands that are set to open include the international department stores – Harvey Nichols – a first for Qatar, Debenhams, Marks & Spencer, Centrepoint and BHS as well as the first ACE Hardware store in Qatar. The international retail franchise operator M H Alshaya Co has announced that 45 of their leading brands will open at Doha Festival City, with several ‘market firsts’ promised, added Hill.
Other well-known international brands set to open include the LEGO Store, JCrew, Victoria’s Secret and Muji. “For F&B  visitors will be spoilt for choice, with the opening of more than 100 places to dine and relax including restaurants, cafes, and casual dining outlets including Serendipity 3, Abdul Wahab Lebanese Restaurant, as well as top international dining outlets including Texas Roadhouse, Hummingbird Bakery, Bouchon, Eataly and The Cheesecake Factory,” he said.

\The French retail chain, Monoprix Hypermarket, is also set to open its largest store worldwide at the mall.   Monoprix Hypermarket will boast more than 35,000 high-quality goods within its 7,000 square metre location, including several product lines that will be new and exclusive to Qatar to give our shoppers exclusivity.

“VOX Cinemas will also be part of our offerings and their revolutionary cinema experiences will give moviegoers something to talk about! There will be 18 screens available and four new concepts completely unique to Doha Festival City,” he said. Doha Festival City has many innovative aspects that set it apart from other destinations.
“Our vision was to create a space for the whole community to come together and celebrate the best leisure facilities, retail mix and hospitality, all with exceptional service. Our much loved brands along with entertainment offerings and F&B outlets will provide visitors with a comprehensive combination that will appeal to guests of every age. In addition to our retail offerings, we will have four unique family friendly theme parks to give our guests a range of fun experiences,” he said.

Some of the theme parks will be open for the first time in the Middle East such as “Angry Birds World” that’s inspired from the global gaming sensation. Angry Birds World will include over 35 attractions, both indoor and outdoor and have digitally interactive rides such as the Middle East’s longest Go-Kart Track and the Water Rapids. The second theme park will be “Snow Dunes”, which will be Qatar’s first indoor snow park with a distinct Arabian theme featuring snow fall, snow slides, sledge rides among others.

Then there is “Juniverse”, that’s an edutainment park for children that harnesses the power of dynamic learning and offers state-of-the-art role-playing experience for children and “Virtuocity” which is exclusively created for teens and adults to deliver an immersive digital gaming experience with its 230 seater eSports Arena, 10 racing simulators, eight flight simulators & 50 generation consoles. VOX’s revolutionary 4DX cinema experience will feature simulated rain, wind, thunder, lightning, motion and even scents, he added.

“Our other innovative offerings include the sports facilities that encourage physical activity and a healthy lifestyle in Qatar. We will offer a range of green space with outdoor facilities that are free of charge to guests and include two outdoor basketball courts and a 3 kilometre trail surrounding the Mall with numerous routes for both running and cycling,” he said.

“Our media partner, Elan Media will also provide best-in-class turnkey solutions to the Mall, which will enable brands to reach up to millions of visitors per year with their state-of-the art in-mall advertising. Three new formats never seen before in Qatar will be viewed by our guests and include ‘The Axis, The Runway and The Torch’,” he added.

Source: Sachin Kumar / The Peninsula

Source URL:https://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/18/01/2017/Doha-Festival-City-to-open-in-March-20-million-visitors-a-year-expected