The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) has taken another step towards uniting people through the power of football by announcing annual cultural festivals in the lead up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™.

Addressing SC's first ever cultural workshop in Doha recently, Communications Director Fatma Al Nuaimi said the inaugural edition of the festival would take place in 2019 with the concept being trialed this year through a fan fest held in Doha during the 2018 FIFA World Cup™.

SC's inaugural cultural workshop in progress

The annual festivals will be delivered by the SC's 2022 FIFA World Cup™ cultural stakeholders, the Qatar Tourism Authority, Qatar Museums and Qatar Foundation – with the SC empowering them to achieve their goals.

"By hosting the first ever FIFA World Cup in the Middle East, Qatar has a unique opportunity to use football and culture as tools to bring people together," Al Nuaimi told the participants of the workshop. The workshop was organised by SC's Community Engagement team in association with the Ministry of Culture of the State of Qatar to bring together the three important stakeholders.

"To enhance fan experience, the 2022 FIFA World Cup will offer many cultural platforms. The World Cup cultural programme will be designed to narrate Qatar's story to local, regional and international audiences thereby building new bridges of understanding. We see the annual cultural festival, that will start in 2019, serving as a countdown to the 2022 cultural experience."

Al Nuaimi expanded on the role of the cultural sector in the hosting of sporting mega events. She said: "Culture can play an important role in delivering our vision to unite people by hosting the Arab world's first ever FIFA World Cup. By being an integral part of the World Cup hosting plans, the cultural sector is open to the many development objectives and benefits presented by the tournament."

Jude Kelly and Martin Green, experts in the field of sporting cultural fests, also shared their experiences during the workshop. Both Kelly and Green played key roles during the 2012 London Olympic Games – Kelly served as member of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad Board and Green as Head of Ceremonies.

Both Kelly and Green felt that Qatar's cultural offerings in 2022 must come from within and not by replicating case studies of previous sporting mega events.

Green, currently CEO of Hull City of Culture, also underscored the importance of cultural sector in breaking down stereotypes and changing perceptions by shedding light about the city's delivery of the City of Culture award.

The event forms part of the SC Community Engagement team's wider remit, of working with people on the ground – in Qatar and across the region – to ensure the legacy and cultural benefits of hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™ are long-lived, and felt by all.

The department is responsible for numerous activities, including the Accessibility Forum, Youth Panel, outreach programmes to Qatari students studying abroad and the Community Grant Scheme – among others.

And SC Community Engagement Manager Khalid Al Jumaily explained about the focus of the workshop: "We discussed areas of collaboration with our cultural stakeholders, such as the delivery of the World Cup countdown cultural events. We looked at ways of ensuring that everything we do is relevant to the tournament and relates to a broad sector of society, in Qatar and beyond.

"Art and culture will distinguish the Middle East's first World Cup. We want to engage the residents of Qatar, and those who visit the country. It's our job to shape and define Qatar as a modern, forward-looking nation that builds on its traditional heritage and values."

Find out more about the SC's Community Engagement programmes and initiatives.