Everything you need to know about Qatar’s newest shopping festival…

Qatar is considered a shopper’s paradise and the country’s newest shopping festival on the calendar — Shop Qatar — will only add to that feeling.

The mammoth shopping festival, which is also being promoted as a tourism extravaganza, runs from January 7 to February 7 and has several things going for it. We look at some of the festival’s best features, as well as things to do during the month-long event.

Here are three reasons why you should be shopping at Shop Qatar.

1. Discounts and prizes

Some outlets in Shop Qatar will be offering great discounts of up to 50%. Additionally, when a customer spends QR200, they stand a chance to win prizes worth QR4,000,000, including a jackpot of QR1m.

Raffle draws will be held on first three Thursdays of the Festival (January 12, 19 and 26), with 15 cash prizes ranging from QR10,000 to QR300,000 to be given away each week. The mega-draw for QR1,000,000 will be on Shop Qatar’s final day.

2. Something for everyone

Shop Qatar will be an impressive mix of shopping and entertainment, indoor and outdoor activities for both children and adults. There is a bit of everything for everyone.

3. Discover new shopping destinations

The retail scene in Qatar has been growing like never before and every one of them will be showcased at the month-long event. Right from luxury gallerias to entertainment-rich shopping centres and old souqs and bazaars, it has it all.

Malls/venues participating in Shop Qatar event

The inaugural Shop Qatar features 10 retail partners. They are:

Mall of Qatar

Ezdan Mall

Hyatt Plaza

Al Khor Mall

Lagoona Mall

Gulf Mall

Landmark

Dar Al Salam Mall

The Gate Mall

The Pearl-Qatar

Pop-up shops

If you thought Shop Qatar was only about big businesses, think again. The festival will promote local talents and small businesses by opening 30 pop-up shops across the participating malls. There will be 10 pop-up shops in Mall of Qatar, five each at Ezdan, Landmark, The Gate and Lagoona Malls.

Art and design students from the Virginia Commonwealth University Qatar (VCU-Q) will showcase their work at Shop Qatar.Pop-up stores will sell everything from clothing, jewellery and accessories to art, furniture and chocolate.

Reading campaign

Shop Qatar will have a dedicated corner for Qatar Foundation’s National Reading campaign at the Mall of Qatar. It will offer mall visitors some down time with their children to enjoy a book.

Spectacular weekend entertainments

* On January 12, 13 and 14, head over to the Doha Corniche, near Al Mourjan Restaurant, to watch a spectacular fireworks display.

* Between January 12 and 14, walk along the Doha Corniche and stop for a casual bite at any one of the 10 food trucks and stalls set up along the walkway.

* The festival will feature Cats the Broadway musical, the longest-running show on Broadway, from February 1 to 4 at the Qatar National Convention Centre. Tickets for the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical are priced from QR150 onwards and can be purchased from Virgin Megastores.

* There will be two concerts featuring Arab and Khaliji singers on January 20 and 27. Tickets range from QR120 to QR1,250 each.

* The Doha Comedy Festival will run from February 2 to 4. A slew of international and Arab comedians, including Trevor Noah, British comedian Paul Zerdin and ‘The Qatari Guy’ Hamad Al Amari, will perform.

* Visitors can enjoy great winter weather by visiting the Magical Festival Village, located right next to the Katara Cultural Village. It will feature over 400 shopping outlets, dozens of cafes and restaurants.

* Qatar Foundation will screen episodes of Siraj, the new 3D animation ‘edutainment’ TV series. A mobile library for children will also be operational.

* Fashion-savvy visitors can catch up on global fashion trends by attending fashion shows held on the last weekend of Shop Qatar.

Free mall shows

* A thrilling circus performance will be held in the outdoor area of Hyatt Plaza every day from January 8 to 21. While the shows begin at 6.30pm and 8pm on weekends, there will be three shows — at 5.30pm, 7pm and 9pm — on weekdays.

* There will be free roaming entertainment shows at malls throughout the month-long festival.

So will you be checking out Shop Qatar one of these days?