Qatar is upping the competition for museum enthusiasts and art lovers as well as football fanatics.
The Qatar Museums Authority yesterday awarded Hyundai Engineering & Construction a US$434 million (Dh1.59 billion) contract to build the Qatar National Museum in Doha.
The South Korean company said it would take 33 months to finish the building, designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel.
Mr Nouvel is also the designer of the branch of the Louvre Museum under development on Saadiyat Island, where Abu Dhabi is building its own cultural attractions. Saadiyat will also be the home to the UAE's National Museum and a branch of the Guggenheim Museum designed by another renowned architect, Frank Gehry.
Qatar made international headlines by earning the right to host the 2022 Fifa World Cup, and the announcement last month of its bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics. But cultural tourism is a much different sport with different stakes. The prize is a growing segment of regional touristsseeking attractions closer to home.
"There is a whole group of tourists who don't have the interest or funds to travel outside the region," said Rob O'Hanlon, an Oman-based partner in Deloitte. Unlike the World Cup and other sporting events, which attract tourists for a short time, cultural sites are year-round draws, Mr O'Hanlon said. "The key is widening the offering to make it worthwhile [for tourists] to spend the cost."
Qatar is currently a bit player on the regional tourism scene. It attracted a million tourists last year compared to 13 million for Egypt, 12 million in Saudi Arabia and nine million in the UAE, according to Euromonitor International.
Qatar's National Museum will join the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha designed by IM Pei, which opened in 2008, as well as the Arab Museum of Modern Art, which opened in the Qatari capital last December.
A photography museum is also under development.
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
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- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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At a glance
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Tomorrow 2021
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Abu Dhabi card
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 2,400m
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Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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Volunteers of all ages can submit DNA samples at centres across Abu Dhabi, including: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec), Biogenix Labs in Masdar City, NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City, NMC Royal Medical Centre, Abu Dhabi, NMC Royal Women's Hospital, Bareen International Hospital, Al Towayya in Al Ain, NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
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