Qatar is a beautiful country on the map of the world with big ambitions that promote sports and healthy lifestyles as a part of everyone’s life. Qatar has given the world a one-of-a-kind museum, the 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum. This precious jewel of a country opened on March 31st this year as one of the attractions during the FIFA World Cup 2022. The museum will be a great way for sports enthusiasts to learn about the advent of different sports and their development while they visit the country in November during the World Cup.
3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum: Amalgamation of Ancient and Modern Sports
The tables turned for this Persian Gulf hub when it hosted the Asian Games in 2006, with 45 nations competing in 424 events across 39 sports. 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum is strategically located at Doha's Khalifa Stadium to fascinate visitors to this epitome of inspiration and perseverance. The moto of His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulla Al Thani, President of the 3-2-1 Qatar Olympics and Sports Museum, is for people to embrace an active and healthy lifestyle by getting inspired by the ample stories in the museum.
Architecture Of 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum
The two separate structures that form the museum were designed by the Spanish architect Joan Sibina. The main building is attached to the famous Khalifa International stadium, with a second spiralled building through which everything is accessible. The spirals are inspired by the five rings of the Olympics and they also glow at night, giving the museum an edgy look. The entrance to the museum looks like a racing track, and the carved-out latticework provides shade on the hot days. The museum is divided into seven galleries, exhibiting the journey of different sports from the 8th century BC to the present day. The galleries are beautifully designed, each narrating a different story about sports.
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The Vision Behind the 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum
The vision for creating such an elaborative hub of sports facts and stories is to help people understand the significance of sports in a fun and entertaining way and to impart all the knowledge associated with sports played all over the world and Qatar. The idea behind creating the 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum is also to showcase the passion and enthusiasm of Qatar towards sports and its appeal to the world to embrace an active lifestyle.
The Galleries at the 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum
There are seven galleries inside the museum, each showcasing different spheres of sports from the beginning. The only sports museum in Qatar has the most spacious galleries for people to roam around easily, even with a large crowd.
Gallery 1. It is the main lobby area, providing an introduction of the museum to its visitors and welcoming them through a video wall and custom soundscape. The gallery provides an outline of all the themes in the museum and the vital role of sports in Qatar.
Gallery 2. It's called a "Global History of Sport," and it tells the story beginning in the 8th century. The gallery displays approximately 100 artefacts from the ancient to modern history of sports from around the world. There are digital elements in the gallery, from graphics, audiovisuals, and interactive equipment. The gallery also depicts the evolution of similar sports in different parts of the world, demonstrating that humanity was in desperate need of physical activity.
Gallery 3. This gallery is all about the ‘Olympics’. The gallery of this sports museum in Doha takes the visitors from discovering everything about the ancient games in Greece to the modern Olympics and their evolution, signifying that change is the law of nature, even in sports. The gallery also projects a fascinating video about the birth of the modern Olympics and its impact on international sports and people all over the world. There is an exhibition of all the torch relays from the summer and winter Olympics since 1936. A section of the gallery focuses on different national and international Olympics committees that are trying to keep the spirit of sport and legacy of the Olympics alive.
Gallery 4. Any sport is nothing without the players who created history with an unbelievable goal, a punch, or a knockdown. This 'hall of athletes' salutes the world's evergreen athletes with great respect and honor. The gallery demonstrates 90 outstanding athletes in different sports, like American fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, Indian boxer Mary Kom, Swiss cyclist Heinz Frei, and many more from all around the world. The gallery is spread over three floors and exhibits life-size artefacts like a formula 1 race car, a baseball bat from Babe Ruth, the soccer ball used by Brazilian forward Pelé to score the 1,000th goal of his career, and much more.
Gallery 5. Qatar has been emerging as an amazing host and a sports-enthusiastic country since the marvellous success of the Asian Games in 2006. This gallery shows the victories of Qatari athletes in various tournaments, and it also showcases some of the traditional sports played in the country, like falconry and pearl diving. An interesting video explains the history and significance of the famous Khalifa International Stadium since its inauguration in 1976.
Gallery 6. This beautiful country has been preserving its 1000-year-old culture and traditions, including the ones associated with sports. The gallery gracefully shows ‘Qatar sports culture’ through various audiovisual experiences like Qatar’s maritime and desert traditions, sports becoming a part of the school curriculum in the 1950s; etc. The gallery narrates the motivational story of the first Arabian Gulf Cup in 1970, the visits of Muhammed Ali, and the completion of the splendid Khalifa international stadium.
Gallery 7. A part of Qatar’s mission is promoting an active and healthy lifestyle, and that’s what this gallery wants from its visitors. The ‘activation zone’ is filled with different kinds of activities, such as walking on a passage that reflects the landscape of Qatar through a digital installation. Visitors can understand different aspects of their bodies and minds, like vitality, collaboration, control, quickness, etc., through a variety of activities. In the end, the visitors are recommended the best physical activities according to the needs of their bodies.
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3-2-1 Café
If you have junk food in mind, don’t bother to come to the café. The menu of the café is decided by Tom Aikens, a U.K.-born Michelin-star chef and avid marathon runner, who is also pro healthy food and that is what the visitors get in the café. One of the healthiest cafés in Doha, is on the third floor of the museum and offers salads, sandwiches, infused teas, and cold-pressed juices. The café has a proper seating area where visitors can eat and relax after roaming around the museum.
Naua Restaurant
People looking for a fusion of healthy and gourmet food must try this restaurant during their visit to the museum. The restaurant is created by Michelin-star chef Tom Aikens, a firm believer of healthy eating and that is what you will get on the restaurant’s menu also. One of the distinct attractions in Qatar, this restaurant offers heathy and mindful eating options, such as beetroot and sweet potato soup, spinach and kale dumplings, chocolate avocado and lime and much more. The casual fine dining restaurant is on the eighth floor and is the ultimate destination for the visitors to sit, eat delicious healthy food and discuss the glory of this fantastic museum.
Gift Store
The shop on the second floor of the 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum offers exclusive sportswear, kits of different sports, posters of different tournaments and players, bats, and much more in all sizes. There are a lot of things specially targeted for people who will be visiting the country for FIFA world cup 2022, like flag pins, finger paints, jerseys, branded face masks etc. The gift store is quite spacious with all the things properly visible. It is a paradise for sports enthusiasts who will have ample options to buy and get inspired to live a healthy life.
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Additional Information
Here are some vital details about the museum.
Location: Al Waab St, Doha, Qatar
Timing: Sunday to Thursday: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday: 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
World of Football
With the FIFA World Cup 2022 around the corner, it is obvious that the only sports museum in Qatar should do something exciting for the football lovers who are visiting the host country from all around the world. 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum provides a valuable gift for all football fans by exhibiting the history of the honest game and Qatar's journey from being one of many teams to the host country.
The first section of the world of football takes the visitors to the place where it all began. From the first knockout tournament in the world, the FA Cup, that came into existence in 1871, creating and then amending a long list of significant rules of the game from time to time, as per the requirement to bringing FIFA into existence, creating historical moments during many world cups and changing the lives of numerous players who became legends.
The other section of the world of football at 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum showcases the beginning of FIFA; where the first world cup was held in Uruguay in 1930 among 13 nations. The section also familiarizes the visitors with the journey of Qatar from being selected as the host to organize FIFA world cup 2022. It is a proud moment for Qatar to be the first Arab nation to be hosting such a prestigious international sports tournament.
One must visit this museum to understand the amount of blood and sweat that is out in to build a team and create history. The museum is adjacent to the famous Khalifa International stadium which would give an opportunity to all the sports lovers to easily explore the world of sports. Be aware of the fact that the museum won’t be operating on the dates of football matches in the stadium, so plan your visit accordingly.
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3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum, being the national and international centre for sports history, heritage and knowledge also promotes academic researches. There are several interesting programs created for teachers, students, and families by a team in the museum, to be enjoyed and learnt at home or in the classroom. If you are planning to visit Qatar, avail of Qatar holiday packages, visit this museum with your loved ones and explore many other outstanding places that the country offers.
FAQs
The museum is in Doha, Qatar; attached with the famous Khalifa International Stadium. The museum is dedicated to the world of sports including history, culture, and inspiring athletes.
Yes. There is a café and a restaurant inside the museum. The café serves healthy sandwiches and fresh juices. The restaurant has a casual fine dining setup serving nutritious and gourmet food.
The FIFA world cup 2022 is scheduled to take place between the months of November and December. The first match will be on November 21 and the last is on December 18.
Yes. There is a gift store in the museum that has a variety of items related to different sports and athletes like jerseys, balls, bats, shoes, posters etc. There are many things specially for people visiting during FIFA world cup such as flag pins, finger paints, etc.
There are ample things that can be enjoyed in Doha with friends and family like exploring the book collection at the Qatar national library, experiencing the luxury at the banana island, climbing up the barzan towers, swimming around the beaches, learning falconry, exploring pearl Qatar and much more.
Hamad International airport is the international airport in Doha. The airport is quite large and spacious and there are ample flights available from all over the world.
There are 7 galleries in the museum spread around different floors. Each gallery showcases an aspect of sports such as ancient to modern history of sports, significance of Olympics on international platform, role of Qatar in promoting sports and much more. There is an activation zone in the last gallery that promotes an active and healthy lifestyle.
The museum was created with the vision and mission of promoting a healthy and active lifestyle. Qatar has been quite vocal about embracing sports and different activities in day today life, so that maximum people are mentally and physically fit. The museum signifies the role of sports and healthy eating that led to many athletes creating history on the global platform.
