QMFOC GENERAL MANAGER, HAMAD AL TAMIMI, ANNOUNCES THE 1ST QATAR MARINE FESTIVAL
THE QATAR MARINE FESTIVAL TO COMMENCE ON 29TH OF JANUARY 2010 
Hamad Al Tamimi: “Many thanks to HH the Emir and HH Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned for their continuous and unlimited support.”
Hamad Al Tamimi: “The Festival program is grouped into five clusters – Culture, Environment, Education, Sport and Entertainment – with many surprises awaiting the public.”
Rashid Al Binali: “Government gave us all the backing and assistance required.”
Salman Al Hamadi: “The Festival will take place at the Cultural Village and we are ready for any challenges.”
Abdulaziz Al Ishaq: “The feedback received from the official launch gave us beneficial insight and we will be providing very high standard media services during the 1st Qatar Marine Festival.”
On Tuesday, 17 November 2009, the Qatar Marine Festival Organising Committee (QMFOC) held a press conference, at Grand Hyatt Hotel, to announce the 1st Qatar Marine Festival. The spokespersons of QMFOC included General Manager, Hamad Al Tamimi; Manager of Communications and PR, Rashid Al Binali; Venue Manager, Salman Al Hammadi; Shadi Al Qassem, Manager of Marketing and Sponsorship and Head of Media and Broadcasting, Abdulaziz Al Ishaq.
Hamad Al Tamimi opened the press conference by announcing that the 1st Qatar Marine Festival (QMF) is scheduled to take place from 29 January to 7 February 2010. He expressed great appreciation for the close cooperation with HH Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned on developing the concept of this Festival and extended sincere gratitude for Her Highness’ continuous support. 
The Qatar Marine Festival is based on five pillars – Culture, Education, Environment, Sport and Entertainment. These particular areas were targeted in order to connect this project to the Qatar Vision 2030, especially in terms of modernization and preservation of cultural traditions, protection of environment and social development.
This is a continuous project that will take place every year. The events of the festival will be constantly revised; the existing events will be perfected and new events will be included with every edition of QMF ensuring diversity and offering opportunities for powerful new experiences.
Al Tamimi also talked about the preparation period since the conception of the idea of Qatar Marine Festival and the creation of the Qatar Marine Festival Organising Committee, “Since the establishment of QMFOC we have dedicated our efforts on creating an event that will benefit Qatar’s development and bring excitement to local and expatriate communities,” said Al Tamimi.
Following the General Manager’s statement the session was opened for questions. When asked why the festival was moved from April 2009 to January 2010, General Manager commented that this change occurred due to the events in Ghaza, which affected many events and festivals in the Arab World. As for the fact that it was moved for a much later date, than initially announced, Al Tamimi explained that QMF is an outdoor event and since the temperatures in summer get too high, the organisers wanted to make sure that the weather is appropriate for participants and visitors to truly enjoy their time outdoors.
In response to the questions about the Qatar Marine Festival events, Al Tamimi stated that the events of the 1st Qatar Marine Festival will cover all the five clusters mentioned above. Some of the events of the Festival were announced at the press conference.
The Visual Art Exhibition, as part of the cultural events, will be focusing on the Qatar Marine Festival themes and messages through expressions of various forms of art such as painting, photography, sculpture, graphic design, sound and video interactive art and any other shape or form of artistic expression that showcases Qatar’s traditions and maritime heritage.
The Marine Life event, included in the environment cluster, will display marine flora and fauna in order to educate the visitors and raise environmental awareness. Pools and aquariums will contain marine species highlighting the history of marine life in Qatar. Marine equipment like nets, water filters, etc., will also be exhibited.
A Book Exhibition will be held as part of the education cluster. The exhibition will include local, regional and international books on a variety of subjects related to the marine theme. The books will cover a wide range of age groups and story readings will be organised for the young readers. A number of local authors will participate in book signing and briefing, to encourage the young generation of the region to take interest in book reading and writing.
Dhow Sailing Competition will be held during the festival. Twenty-two feet (22ft) traditional dhows will be racing to test the skills and the endurance of the participants and presenting a fascinating show for the spectators.
Among numerous entertainment activities, Music Nights will bring together local and regional Arabic bands that will perform traditional Arabic music, dance and songs. The performers will move around the venue creating a festive atmosphere and engaging the visitors to participate in the performance.
The 1st Qatar Marine Festival will be a non ticketed event with free access for public. However, due to the fact that some events will have limited seating the accessibility will be on first-come-first-serve basis. While some events will be purely spectator performances, other activities will be interactive and open for public participation.
The General Manager thanked Ahmad Al Missned, the Director of Cultural Village for his collaboration and support on preparing a wonderful venue for the 1st Qatar Marine Festival.
Following the announcement of the events, Rashid Al Binali, the Manager of Communications and PR, addressed numerous accounts in media regarding the postponement of Qatar Marine Festival due to the problems with the budget allocation for the event. “We respect our media colleagues, and their professionalism, however, we would like to stress that the government provided us with all necessary support and resources for organising the 1st Qatar Marine Festival and the only reason for postponement was explained in the speech of Mr Tamimi,” said Al Binali.
Al Binali also answered questions regarding the limited communication between QMFOC and media for the past year. He stated that now that the dates of the event have been confirmed, the organising committee is open for media approach at any time.
Al Binali proceeded with responding to enquiries regarding the guests of the event. He mentioned that local and international guests will be invited to attend Qatar Marine Festival. They will include government officials, business proprietors, key representatives from cultural, educational, environmental and sport spheres and showbiz celebrities. However, he emphasized that Qatar Marine Festival is an open event that welcomes all who would like to share in this unique happening.
Hamad Al Tamimi continued the event by thanking numerous organisations for their input in the preparation of the festival. He said: “Since our establishment, we have been working closely with a number of organisations in Qatar like Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Environment, Qatar Foundation, Qatar University, Qatar Olympic Committee, Qatar Marine Sports Federation and other government and private organisations. We thank them for their highly appreciated partnership and we look forward to our mutually beneficial collaboration on this Festival and in the future.”
“We would like to extend special thanks to Dr Hamad Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, Minister of Culture and Chairman of Supreme Committee for Doha – Capital of Arab Culture 2010 for his greatly valued support,” stated Al Tamimi.
Salman Al Hammadi, the Venue Manager, informed the guests that the1st Qatar Marine Festival will be held on the premises of the Cultural Village. This newly built state-of-art facility will further enhance the intensity of the Festival by providing perfect architectural setting inspired by traditional style. “The festival will cover majority of the area of Cultural Village with many different activities running throughout the day, which makes it a great place for an exciting family outing.”
When asked regarding the measures taken by the organising committee in respect to the H1N1 virus, Al Hammadi remarked that the organisers will work with the Supreme Council of Health in order to implement al necessary measures for public safety. He added that Qatar has been doing a great job in keeping H1N1 in control and has some relatively low rates of infection cases, even though, recently the country hosted major international events, among them Tribecca Film Festival, Tennis World Cup and Volleyball World Cup.
Abdulaziz Al Ishaq, Head of Media and Broadcasting, brought up the experience of the Qatar Marine Festival Official Launch held in November last year. He remarked that it was presented by some media as the 1st Qatar Marine Festival and clarified that this event was in fact held to establish QMF and QMFOC and to launch the logo and the website of the event. “Although, we are flattered that the Launch was compared to the actual Festival, it was only a small event that was meant to introduce our organisation and Qatar Marine Festival,” said Al Ishaq.
In response to the question about how the media can follow the progress and the news of Qatar Marine Festival, Al Ishaq pointed out that QMFOC website www.qmfoc.gov.qa will offer extensive services for media representatives. He encouraged all media members, who wish to cover the 1st Qatar Marine Festival, to register online and receive SMS notifications and newsletters with regular updates on the Festival and on various media services; i.e. accreditation. Al Ishaq also announced that during the festival QMFOC will give out media awards for various categories such as best picture, best article, best headlines and best coverage.
Hamad Al Tamimi concluded the press conference by thanking all guests for their attendance and their interest in the Qatar Marine Festival.