Qatar Museums announced that the 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum will open to the public on 31 March 2022. The museum, under the patronage of The Amir, HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, is a member of the Olympic Museums Network (OMN) and will be one of the world’s most innovative and technologically advanced museums dedicated to sports.
The museum will offer an unforgettable and inspiring interactive journey through the history and legacy of sports around the globe and the Olympic Games. Designed by Spanish architect Joan Sibina, the museum is approximately 19,000 square metres – one of the largest of its kind – and is built onto Khalifa International Stadium, part of Aspire Zone Foundation. The stadium, originally constructed in 1976, will host the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™.
According to Qatar Museums Chairperson, HE Sheikha Al Mayasa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the opening of the 3-2-1 Museum alongside the FIFA congress is a symbol of the importance of sports in Qatar National Vision 2030. The museum belongs to the OMN and is a legacy project of the Doha Asian Games 2006.
The 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum follow Qatar’s outstanding performance at the Tokyo Olympics, a few months before the country host the World Cup in November 2022. HE Sheikha Al Mayasa added that the opening promises to celebrate the Qatari athletes with the world.
Culture and sports are two sides of the same coin, and there is no better time to celebrate our nation’s investments in both culture and sports. Two pillars that also support Qatar’s investments in education and health.
Unique displays and remarkable collection
The museum’s unique exhibits and remarkable collection present the role of sports as among the most significant cultural developments in history. It features the contemporary significance of the Olympic Games, the stories of sporting heroes around the world and the inspiring story of sports development in Qatar, and also explore the massive impact of mega-events hosted by Qatar in recent decades.
The interactive experiences in the Activation Zone will promote sports across Qatar, inspire future talent and encourage the adoption of healthy and active lifestyles. The 3-2-1 Museum comprises seven gallery spaces, organised under the direction of Curatorial Affairs Deputy Director Kevin Moore, PhD.
World of Emotion serves as the museum’s reception area and lobby and provides an overview of the museum’s themes and the central role of sports in Qatar.
A Global History of Sport is a journey through the history of sports across the globe from ancient to modern times. The gallery includes nearly 100 objects and reproductions, accompanied by graphics, audio-visual and interactive digital elements. The gallery is organised into geographic and thematic sections, focusing on different historical periods in Europe, Asia and Oceania, the Americas, Africa, and the Middle East.
Olympics takes visitors from the ancient Olympic Games through to the birth of the modern Olympics and their growth and significance today. The gallery features a display of every torch from the Summer and Winter Olympic Games from 1936 onwards. Within the gallery’s Olympic Theatre is an immersive video that tells the birth of the modern Olympics and introduces the geopolitical, social, and technological factors that enabled individuals, most notably Pierre de Coubertin, to revive the Olympic Games.
The Hall of Athletes is a celebration of sporting heroes from around the world. Here, visitors can meet heroes, old and new, and be inspired by their journeys and achievements. Across three floors, this gallery will profile 90 athletes from across the world and the 20th and 21st centuries, representing a wide range of international sports.
Qatar – Hosting Nation explores how the mega sports events hosted by Qatar in recent decades have become a matter of global fascination and national pride. The gallery invites visitors to explore Qatar’s outstanding reputation as host to international sporting events, starting with the Asian Games Doha 2006, and to revisit the most memorable moments of world-class events that the nation has held, including those at Khalifa Stadium since its opening in 1976.
Qatar Sports presents the inspiring story of the development of sports in Qatar, from traditional games through to the arrival of international sports and the development of international competitions. The gallery explores how sports have been and continue to be essential to the development of Qatar. The gallery also brings to life Qatar’s long-established sports activities such as falconry, pearl diving and camel racing.
Activation Zone promotes physical activity across Qatar and encourages the adoption of healthy and active lifestyles. Visitors are invited to walk through six spaces that evoke the landscape of Qatar, including the park, the market and desert, the beach, the city and finally the arena.
In addition to the exhibition areas, the soon-to-open sports museum also houses a gift shop, the 3-2-1 Café designed by UK-born Michelin-star chef and avid marathon runner Tom Aikens, and a healthy restaurant called Naua.
The opening of the 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum is sponsored by Ooredoo. Generous support has also been provided by the Qatar Olympic Committee, Aspire Zone Foundation, Supreme Committee of Legacy and Delivery and OMN.
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