With less than a year to go until Doha hosts the 2019 World Athletics Championships, organizers of the event welcomed a team of IAAF inspectors to show off the progress and preparations being made, including the world’s first stadium air conditioning system.
Doha will be the first city in the Middle East to host athletics’ biggest event with the Khalifa International Stadium setting the stage. To ensure athletes on the track, and the fans in the seats, are kept at a comfortable temperature, an air conditioning system to combat the desert climate was unveiled.
Over the course of two days technical experts conducted an extensive site visit to test whether the venue would be ready for the event and were said to be impressed with the effectiveness of the air conditioning system.
“I don’t know if the rest of the world really believed this was possible but it’s an amazing system and it shows that our championships can be conducted here in a good environment for the athletes,’’ said IAAF Council member Geoff Gardner.
“There are always challenges preparing for a major event like this but if the Doha LOC rises to all those challenges as it has to this one, then our event is in safe hands.
“We have made good progress in our planning over the weekend. One of the goals was to forge closer relationships between key personnel at the LOC and the IAAF because that united team will form the foundation for a successful championships in just over a year’s time.”
The 2019 IAAF World Championships will be held from September 27 to October 6 in Doha, Qatar, and the Khalifa International Stadium will also be one of the host venues of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
