Dire in Doha: world championships ‘catastrophe’ leaves athletics reeling

[daveza]

Dire in Doha: world championships ‘catastrophe’ leaves athletics reeling | Sean Ingle

Empty seats and ghostly silence have been the sad feature of the world athletics championships in Doha – a PR disaster for the sport, the IAAF, Sebastian Coe and Qatar

www.theguardian.com

Moments after the greatest 10.83 seconds of Dina Asher-Smith’s life, the British sprinter grabbed a union flag from her mother, Julie, and began a lap of honour to celebrate her world championship 100m silver medal. But as she trotted round the 40,000-seat Khalifa stadium in Doha on Sunday night she was greeted by banks of empty seats and a ghostly silence.

Observers reckoned there were no more than 1,000 people still in attendance and many of them were journalists tapping away to deadline. Asher-Smith’s mother later tweeted she had seen more spectators at England Athletics’ age-group championships in Bedford.

The organisers have since blamed the start of the working week and an event schedule designed for European TV audiences. But that cannot hide a simple fact. These world athletics championships have been a PR disaster for athletics, for the sport’s president, Sebastian Coe, and for Qatar, a country which has spent the past decade buying up rights to host major events, including the 2022 football World Cup.

You run a major event in a backward country and are then surprised when nobody attends ?

Wait for WC 2020.... it will be worse.

 

[Azg]

Dire in Doha: world championships ‘catastrophe’ leaves athletics reeling | Sean Ingle

Empty seats and ghostly silence have been the sad feature of the world athletics championships in Doha – a PR disaster for the sport, the IAAF, Sebastian Coe and Qatar

www.theguardian.com

You run a major event in a backward country and are then surprised when nobody attends ?

Wait for WC 2020.... it will be worse.

I think the WC 2020 will be much better. Soccer fans from qualifying nations travel to the World Cup, so you are less dependent on the host nation fans than other sports. Of course you still need host nation fans. Athletics fans don't travel that much.

 

[Gordon_R]

Qatar is facing a boycott and travel restrictions from most of the surrounding Arab countries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017-2019_Qatar_diplomatic_crisis

Is it at all surprising that there is a poor turnout? Are athletes such snowflakes that they can't run without an audience?

 

[Surv0]

What a joke.

 

[TysonRoux]

Women aren't allowed out the kitchen and there is no way the 'men' would be permitted to see a "half naked" female running.

Its on TV right now, and there's a good few foreigners, but no locals.

 

[wbot]

Hmm... 2010 Indoor championships in Doha with loads of empty seats as well. This track is used as the warm-up track for this year's championships. Arab nations are not into athletics as much as the rest of the world

 

[skimread]

van Niekerk and Caster not there. No other SA athlete worth watching.

 

[Hamster]

Dire in Doha: world championships ‘catastrophe’ leaves athletics reeling | Sean Ingle

Empty seats and ghostly silence have been the sad feature of the world athletics championships in Doha – a PR disaster for the sport, the IAAF, Sebastian Coe and Qatar

www.theguardian.com

You run a major event in a backward country and are then surprised when nobody attends ?

Wait for WC 2020.... it will be worse.

Stadium looks good though. Events go too late into the he evening. I sit at home watching and the finals in the evenings is sometimes too late for comfort.

And they're an hour ahead of us.

 

[Hamster]

van Niekerk and Caster not there. No other SA athlete worth watching.

We got 4th in 100m

Long jump finals we had 2 guys

800m we had another guy


....but no medals do far :/

 

[losta]

The frontiers with neighbouring countries are blocked and Air Qatar is charging 1600 euro per ticket from Europe (for half this price they fly you from Europe to Singapore via Qatar, but you are not allowed to get out).

For the european middle class (and thats where you find loads of athletics fans), spoiled with low ticket cost, this is simply too expensive.

PR disaster for Qatar indeed.

 

[ForceFate]

van Niekerk and Caster not there. No other SA athlete worth watching.

Manyonga went into the competition as a reigning champion in long jump. Simbine came 4th in the 100m finals. He's a medal contender.

 

[wbot]

I watched a bit last night and the stadium was almost full

 

[konfab]

Women aren't allowed out the kitchen and there is no way the 'men' would be permitted to see a "half naked" female running.

Its on TV right now, and there's a good few foreigners, but no locals.

 

[ActivateD]

I watched a bit last night and the stadium was almost full

I have been watching and it seems like when there are distance events like 800m plus there is a large group of people that come to the stadium.

 

[SeRpEnT]

I watched a bit last night and the stadium was almost full

You sure??



LOL

 

[wbot]

Yeah there were a lot of people but it was pretty quiet throughout so that was probably why

 

[losta]

Since last night Qatar Air dropped its ticket prices drastically.

Too late

 

[ShaunSA]

At least they're not Dead in Doha

 

[wbot]

The turnout has been great again tonight. Plus team SA has finally done something right for a change. We have a good chance to finally get on the medals table tomorrow with the mens relay final. It's been dire for SA this year

 

[Azg]

The turnout has been great again tonight. Plus team SA has finally done something right for a change. We have a good chance to finally get on the medals table tomorrow with the mens relay final. It's been dire for SA this year

Yes today was better. Maybe because it's a Friday / the govt / their high jump champion Barshim.

Whatever the reason, for once it felt like a proper world championships. And the athletes delivered.