Following an agreement between the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) and a Spanish public enterprise, Qatar is to set up a sports museum which could boost Doha’s bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
QOC secretary-general Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrehman al-Thani said the museum would be located at the Khalifa Stadium, which comes under the umbrella of the Aspire Zone facility.
He said, “we will be availing of the expertise of architects of the Barcelona Olympic Museum for this project and we expect the museum to be ready before January 2011. We have chosen the Aspire Zone as the venue for setting up the museum as the facility already attracts a lot of visitors. The museum once ready will add value to the existing facility and will help in promoting sports tourism in Qatar”.
The Gulf Times reports that Ferran Ferrer, director of Barcelona de Serveis Municipals, the Spanish company entrusted with the project, said it was apt that Qatar housed a sports museum as it is now the sports nub of the region hosting prestigious tennis tournaments, Qatar Masters golf, MotoGP and is an bid city for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
He said, “not all countries which have hosted the Olympic Games have set up a museum. Most of these cities only have facilities to house materials related to the event so I am glad that Qatar has taken the lead in this aspect.
“The Qatar Sports Museum will be unique and will have exhibits relating to sport worldwide. The museum will have works of art which will be interactive and will also educate the visitors on various aspects of sport”, he added.
