Qatar has announced a packed schedule of over 560 events through 2027, aiming to capitalize on its recent success in attracting visitors. The calendar includes major sports like the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2026 and Formula 1's return in December 2027, alongside cultural attractions such as concerts by international artists and food festivals. Jassim Al Mahmoud of Visit Qatar highlighted that the country welcomed 5.1 million visitors last year and expects another 2.9 million this year, driving its ambitious event agenda to sustain high visitor numbers.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-17,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
More than 560 events are planned through 2027, with major sports, concerts and festivals on the programme as Qatar looks to build on record visitor numbers.
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Qatar → plan → numbers
From Formula 1 and the FIBA Basketball World Cup to concerts and food festivals, Qatar has unveiled a calendar of more than 560 events stretching through 2027.
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Qatar → unveil → 2027
The programme comes as the Gulf country looks to build on record visitor numbers following a period of regional uncertainty.
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country → come → uncertainty
Qatar welcomed 5.1 million visitors last year, according to Visit Qatar.
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Qatar → welcome → Qatar
Jassim Al Mahmoud, Director of Communications at Visit Qatar, said another 2.9 million arrived in the first half of this year.
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million → say → year
“The biggest number of visitors arrived to Qatar last year, so this is something that drives us to have such a rich calendar in order to enhance their experience, to have more options, more variety, to bring more visitors to Qatar,” Al Mahmoud said.
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Mahmoud → arrive → Qatar
The Qatar Calendar brings events across sport, culture, entertainment and food together on a single platform, allowing residents and visitors to see what is happening and plan ahead.
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what → bring → platform
A busy roster of events
Sport features heavily, with several major international competitions on the schedule.
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Sport → feature → schedule
The FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2026 will run from 19 November to 13 December, while MotoGP returns to the Lusail International Circuit from 6 to 8 November.
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MotoGP → run → November
The Qatar T100 Triathlon World Championship Final follows from 10 to 12 December, with the Doha Marathon on 15 January 2027.
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Final → follow → January
Top-tier tennis returns in February with the Qatar TotalEnergies Open, scheduled from 8 to 15 February.
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tennis → return → February
Later in the year, Doha will host the FIBA Basketball World Cup from 27 August to 12 September 2027.
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Doha → host → September
Formula 1 is also set to return to Lusail in 2027, with the Qatar Grand Prix scheduled from 3 to 5 December.
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Prix → set → December
Beyond sport, the calendar also includes concerts, festivals, food and cultural events.
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calendar → include → concerts
Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer is among the international artists highlighted, alongside performances by Angham and Saint Levant.
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Zimmer → win → Angham
Other events include the Qatar International Food Festival, Art Basel and the Al Ruwais Festival.
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events → include → Festival
The idea is to give visitors a mix of experiences throughout the year rather than focusing solely on major sporting events, with shopping, food, culture and entertainment included alongside them.
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shopping → give → them
Steve Harvey returns with more events
One familiar face at the launch was US TV host and comedian Steve Harvey, who has already hosted several events in Qatar.
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who → return → Qatar
Harvey said his previous experiences in the country helped bring him back.
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experiences → say → him
“When it comes to beauty and architecture and landscape and the people, it’s just a great place to come,” Harvey said.
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Harvey → come → beauty
“I travel the world.
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I → travel → world
And so this is a great place to come and do business and share the culture.”
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this → come → culture
Harvey said he had signed a multi-year deal to bring more entertainment events to Qatar, including the return of FuelFest, a new comedy series and Family Feud.
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he → say → FuelFest
He also outlined plans to eventually stage what he called a Family Feud World Cup, bringing families from different countries to Qatar to compete in the game show.
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he → outline → show
Building the tourism sector
The calendar is also part of Qatar’s longer-term tourism strategy.
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calendar → build → strategy
Doha has set a target of increasing tourism’s contribution to GDP to 12% by 2030, according to material released alongside the calendar launch.
Al Mahmoud said the range of events was intended to give visitors more options during their stays, spanning sport, culture, shopping and food.
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range → set → sport
“We believe that we have the offering,” he said.
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he → believe → offering
“We have lots of options, a lot of variety.”
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We → have → variety
He said the launch was also intended to signal continuity in Qatar’s events programme.
“By revealing the calendar, we are saying to the world that we are ready, we are open, we have a rich calendar,” Al Mahmoud said.
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Mahmoud → say → calendar
“Qatar remains fully operational.”
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Qatar → remain → ?
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