DOHA: Qatar Airways celebrated its sponsorship of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia by hosting a fun face painting event last week at the Royal Grammar School, Guilford in Qatar (RGS). Young students at the school showcased their team spirit by choosing their favourite football team flags to be painted on their faces by professional face painters.

Qatar Airways’ Oryx Kids Club mascots Orry and Orah the oryx and their three furry friends – Kamil the camel, Faaiz the falcon and Farah the desert fox – also made a special appearance at the fun-filled event, delighting children who were captivated by their surprise guests.

The visit, hosted by RGS, offered students the opportunity to learn more about how both sports and travel have the power to bring people together. The experience was also aligned with the school curriculum’s topic of travel, in which students interacted with the Oryx Kids Club characters, who demonstrated the importance of being leaders and global explorers.

Qatar Airways Senior Vice President Marketing and Corporate Communications, Salam Al Shawa, said: “Qatar Airways is thrilled to celebrate the 2018 FIFA World Cup RussiaTM with our young travellers in Qatar, who were given a taste of the World Cup excitement within their own classrooms here in Doha. We continually strive to engage with young children, who are the leaders of the future, and encourage them to consider how sports has the power to unite people from around the world”.

Principal of Royal Grammar School, Guilford in Qatar, Alistair Downs, said: “We were delighted to welcome Qatar Airways to our school to celebrate and excite our students in the 2018 FIFA World Cup RussiaTM. We were also thrilled to welcome the Oryx Kids Club mascots to the school and introduce the newly-launched characters to our students, to inspire them and offer a sense of familiarity when they travel with Qatar Airways in the future, making their journeys even more enjoyable.”

Launched in March 2018 at KidzMondo, Oryx Kids Club is an initiative by Qatar Airways which is designed to inspire and excite children when they fly. Children travelling on the award-winning airline’s ultra long-haul routes are now able to enjoy specially designed plush toys, activity packs, and special meal boxes featuring their favourite super heroes from the Oryx Kids Club during their flight. The programme will extend to long-haul flights from 1 July 2018, and to short-and medium-haul routes from 1 September 2018.

In May 2017, Qatar Airways announced a groundbreaking sponsorship deal with FIFA, which saw the award-winning airline become the Official Partner and Official Airline of FIFA until 2022.