FIFA World Cup set to start in Qatar

DOHA: The FIFA World Cup kicks off in Qatar on Sunday in a high-stakes event for the tiny nation which has faced a barrage of criticism and staked its reputation on delivering a smooth tournament, the first held in the Middle East.

The opening ceremony in a tent-shaped stadium will be held at 1440 GMT, ahead of the first match between hosts Qatar and Ecuador.

Few details were available on heads of state attending, but state media said the U.N. secretary-general and Algeria’s president arrived on Saturday.

Onstage, the South Korean singer Jungkook, of K-pop boy band BTS will perform a new official tournament song called Dreamers alongside Qatari singer Fahad Al-Kubaisi, FIFA said in a statement early Sunday.

The smallest nation to hold soccer’s biggest global event, Qatar, a wealthy gas producer, aims to bolster its credentials as a global player and display strength to rivals in the region .

Crowd control will be key with some 1.2 million visitors expected to visit, more than a third of Qatar’s population, a majority of whom are foreign workers.

Labourers were putting final touches on outdoor gardens and sidewalks on Saturday and carting construction material to a site near the National Museum, where dozens of people, including fans in Argentina jerseys, milled about.

Qatar has seen a construction frenzy fueled by gas wealth that has changed the face of Doha in the run up to the tournament, the most expensive World Cup in history organised at a cost of $220 billion.

In the renovated Msheireb area, now home to high-end shops, some not yet open, and hipster coffee shops, clusters of men in thobes, the Qatari national dress, walked by singing and chanting.

As there is a limited number of hotels within Qatar, fans will also be flying in on daily shuttle flights from neighbouring cities like Dubai.

“When we came in it was like a bit of a work site,” England fan Neil Gahan said in an area in Doha housing fan portacabins.

The cabins were “not brilliant”, he said, but there were sports facilities nearby and massive screens. “Yeah, I think it’s going to be alright”.