DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Authorities on Saturday night turned away thousands of fans from a concert celebrating the World Cup starting the next day in Qatar, showing the challenges ahead for Doha as it tries to manage crowds in the FIFA’s most compact tournament.
Disappointed fans were largely turned away in the aftermath. Once away from the site, Qatari police, security guards and others guided the thousands with giant foam fingers, megaphones and flashing traffic control wands.
But the concert comes before the 1.2 million fans expected for the tournament fully arrive in the Arabian Peninsula country.
And as Qatar only decided on Friday to ban beer sales in tournament stadiums, fan zones like the Corniche fan zone hosting the concert will be the only FIFA-associated area serving pints, meaning that more fans could relate to it.
“We know what the police say here is worth it,” said a 30-year-old truck driver from Mumbai, who declined to give his name for fear of reprisals. He and his friends had had a rare day off from Hamad port to walk 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) to the fan zone before being turned away.
“We are sad to leave because it is too early,” he added. “We can not do anything.”
Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, which oversees the World Cup, did not immediately respond to questions about the fan zone pushing back crowds on Saturday night.
Qatar, home to 3 million people, will see its population increase at the start of the tournament. Already, he has spent more than $200 billion on improvements in the energy-rich country slightly larger than Jamaica.
This includes an extensive new underground metro system that can take fans from the airport to matches. He even closed schools for the month and urged residents to work from home.
But Associated Press reporters have already seen pinch points where large numbers of people can be huddled together before the tournament even begins.
In Doha’s Souq Waqif, a major tourist destination, a walkway between outdoor restaurants quickly filled up side by side on Friday night. Its nearby metro station saw long queues, with jostling between caregivers and those taking the train.
Saturday night, however, started much easier as Friday is the mandatory day off for all workers in the country. Initially, fewer people stood along the ledge as a huge fireworks display suddenly went off, illuminating its skyline of skyscrapers for amazed passers-by.
Shortly after 8 p.m., however, crowds thronged the Fan Zone, hoping to catch a concert featuring Lebanese singer Myriam Fares and Colombian singer Maluma. But while hundreds stood inside an enclosure, thousands more stood outside the hall.
At one exit, the crowd tried to force their way inside, with a few onlookers slipping past the guards. At one entrance, a security guard with a megaphone pleaded with the crowd, “For your safety, please go back!”
Still, some stayed and waited, hoping for a chance to get in, like Ayman Awad, a geologist who flew to Qatar on Saturday from Sudan.
“I won’t give up,” Awad said. “Hopefully it won’t stay so crowded.”
Many foreign fans, aware of Qatar’s restrictions on free speech, were hesitant to criticize the host country in the meantime. A group of Saudi tourists who expressed their disappointment at the situation to an AP reporter later retracted their quotes for fear of getting into “politics”.
The Al Bidda Park Fan Zone is also planning other major concerts during the tournament. But it has taken on new importance after Friday’s decision to ban alcohol sales in stadiums: it will be one of the few places outside of hotel bars and private residences where fans can enjoy a drink while partying in this conservative Islamic nation.
On Saturday evening, a series of quick calls to several bars in Doha’s West Bay, an area full of high-end hotels, revealed that all were full the day before the tournament, with the Fan Zone closed. Still, the real test will begin from Sunday, when Ecuador take on Qatar in the opener and the group stage follows – with the crowd to come.
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