By Christina GoldbaumAs sports fans prepare to flood the tiny Gulf nation, cranes and loaders are still running hard — as is criticism of Qatar’s human rights record and exploitation of workers.
Assembling a sign in Doha, Qatar, ahead of the World Cup. As the tournament draws near, Qatari officials have grown increasingly defensive about outside criticism.Credit...Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters
The sound of drilling echoes between skyscrapers downtown. At a desert encampment,loaders kick up dust between rows of hastily erected beige tents. Newly planted palm trees, their branches still wrapped in brown paper, line the coastal promenade. And at the water’s edge, the minutes tick away on a bright red, hourglass-shaped countdown clock.
With just a few weeks to go until the World Cup kicks off, Qatar is racing to be ready to host the tournament, which will bring millions of eyes and hundreds of thousands of international spectators to this tiny desert peninsula in the Persian Gulf.
Qatar, the smallest country to ever host the World Cup, has poured more than $220 billion into preparations for the event, erecting miles of highways, a metro system, a new airport, stadiums and high-rises.
For the Qataris, the all-out push into the sporting world is an effort to establish an image as a global player and fulfill the vision of the country’s leader, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, to economically develop the country.
So far, though, that gamble has mostly brought controversy and criticism.
