Everything you need to know about Qatar Summer Festival 2016

If you thought Qatar is going to be quiet this summer, you're wrong! Qatar Tourism Authority will be inaugurating the third edition of Qatar Summer Festival at Doha Exhibition and Convention Center today (Aug 1).

The festival this year promises to be better than last year with more activities, attractions and offers for those staying back in the country over the summer. Residents can catch live performances, an entertainment city with fun rides and a food court, a comedy festival and other activities around the city.

Here's everything you need to know about Qatar Summer Festival 2016.

Fireworks

To start off, residents can catch stellar fireworks at Doha Corniche on the opening day of the festival as well as on the last day (31st of August) at 9:00 p.m.

Venues

Festival activities will take place in the following locations throughout the month of August.

Doha Exhibition & Convention Centre (DECC) - Entertainment City

Shopping promotions at participating malls across Qatar (Lagoona, Landmark, Gulf Mall, Ezdan, Al Khor Mall, Hyatt Plaza, City Centre, Dar Al Salam, The Pearl-Qatar)

Qatar National Convention Centre - Doha Comedy Festival

Al Gharrafa Sports Club - Street Madness

Entertainment City at Doha Exhibition & Convention Centre (DECC)

The Entertainment City this year will be bigger and better than last year with 30,000 square meters of space dedicated for games, rides, live shows and a food court.

There will be Angry Birds-themed giant games, bouncy castles, arcade & iPad games and go karting for the older kids. The food court will hold more than 20 restaurants serving all kinds of food.

If you have kids, then you should take them to Entertainment City. Here's what it looked like last year.

Duration: August 1 – 31

Timings: 1:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. - Friday: 1:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.

Prices: Entry ticket: QAR 15/person with QAR5 for games; VIP Entry ticket: QAR 120/person

Free entrance: Kids below 2-year old

Ride with CAREEM to all QSF events: Use the promo code QLSUMMER for 4 rides 50% OFF applicable to NOW/LATER, Economy and Premium. Maximum discount QAR 30.

Hotels and Hotel Apartments

56 hotels and hotel apartments are participating in this year's festival, which is 30 hotels more than last year. Only 26 hotels participated last year.

This year, hotels are offering exciting accommodation promotions for residents and visitors who book using the festival's code: QSF2016

Here's what the hotels will be offering:

Pay for 2 nights, stay for 3 at participating hotels

Pay for 5 nights, stay for 6 at hotel apartments

Late check-out until 17:00

Free daily breakfast for guests

Free transport to and from Hamad International Airport

Children eat for free when accompanying parents (maximum of three children per family)

*To find out which hotels are offering what, visit qatarsummerfestival.qa

Shopping Promotions (Lagoona Mall, Landmark Mall, Gulf Mall, Ezdan, Al Khor Mall, Hyatt Plaza, City Centre - Doha, Dar Al Salam, The Pearl-Qatar)

The annual celebration will also feature shopping promotions at participating malls across Qatar. Some QR2m worth of prizes will be given away on weekly draws.

The malls will also have dedicated zones for kids to colour their summer and live entertainment shows throughout August.

Raffle Draw

Shop at any of the participating malls during the festival and be part of the raffle draw which includes 15 exciting prizes per week, such as four Jaguar XJ cars and prizes in cash worth QAR 800,000.

Raffle draws will take place every Thursday at 7:30 p.m. during the festival on the following dates:

August 4: Al Khor Mall

August 11: Hyatt Plaza Mall

August 18: Dar Al Salam Mall

August 25: Lagoona Mall

Street Madness

Short football matches led by social media influencers from around the region. To entertain the audience between the football matches, short performances will take place by artists and comedians.

Date: 12th August 2016

Venue: Al Gharrafa Sports Club

Prices: Tickets start from QAR 25, available at Virgin Mega Store or ONLINE

Doha Comedy Festival

The top 18 comedians in the GCC and Middle East region will showcase their talent and bring laughter in the crowds in the 2nd edition of the Doha Comedy Festival, arranged for 3 days as a part of the Qatar Summer Festival.

The shows will be in Arabic for ages 13 and above.

Day 1: Bader Saleh, Fadi Al Shehri, Abdallah Al S'aidan, Waddah Swar, Ahmad Al Shammari, Hamad Al Amari

Day 2: Ibrahim Khairallah, Mohammed Al Garawi, Rajae Qawas, Abdelrahman Al Sheikhi, Bashar Al Jazzaf, Zied Al Swaida

Day 3: Moayad Al Nefaie, Moutasim Tarabzouni, Nikolas Khoury, Ibrahim Saleh, Sheyaab, Mohammad Tamimi

Date: 18th – 20th August 2016 (Doors open 7.30pm)
Venue: Qatar National Convention Centre
Prices: Tickets start from QAR 145, up to QAR 1,000, available at Virgin Mega Store or ONLINE.

Ride with CAREEM to all QSF events: Use the promo code QLSUMMER for 4 rides 50% OFF applicable to NOW/LATER, Economy and Premium. Maximum discount QAR 30.

To know more about #QSF2016, visit qatarsummerfestival.qa