(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Qatar 2015 24th Men's Handball World Championship which starts tomorrow will be one of its kind, keeping in view the arrangements which have been made by the organisers.
Not just for the fans and players from the 24 competing countries, the event is expected to be an unprecedented one for the media who will gather in Doha to cover the global tournament as strenuous efforts have been made by Media & Broadcasting (M&B) Committee in this regard.
Following are the excerpts of an interview with Fatma Al Obaidly, Qatar 2015 Head of Media & Broadcasting Committee in which she tells about the steps taken by the body to ensure arrangements for the media in line of mega sporting events like Olympics.
Q: As a Head of the Media & Broadcasting Committee - what is your special anticipation for the 24th Men's Handball World Championship in Qatar in terms of media?
A: As we are getting closer to the opening ceremony of the 24th Men's Handball World Championship (tomorrow), the excitement is growing and thousands of people from all over the world are gathering here in Doha for a unique celebration of sport. We are expecting media from practically every corner of the globe and we are taking all necessary steps to ensure that their experience will be quite memorable.
Q: How huge is the global media interest in the event?
A: Well over a thousand journalists from all over the World have been accredited, out of which over 200 are photographers, who will convey images, full of sporting achievements and human effort from Qatar to every corner of the world. We fully acknowledge the importance of the media play in our digital era.
Q: Which facilities and working conditions can the media representatives from all over the world expect at the newly-built venues?
A: The media are an integral part of our planning and we are proud to offer facilities that can be considered top class in every aspect. Lusail offers the media facilities such as Media Tribunes, a restaurant and a working room, and at the same time it is the main operational hub for all media, volunteers and staff € the Main Media Centre (MMC).
MMC is the headquarters of the media operations during the 24th Men's Handball World Championship. Similar top-class media facilities are available in all venues that will host the games - in Al Sadd and in Duhail.
Q: Like at Olympic Games journalists have the opportunity to improve their work by using an Info System and a picture library. What is the intention to implement those systems?
A: For the first time in the history of the Handball World Championship, the News Service will provide a web-based news and information system called Info system published in English and Arabic, to assist accredited media in covering the competitions. This is a service usually offered at multisport global events, such as the Olympic or the Asian Games and we trust that it will prove to be an essential tool for all media. The Info system will contain competition results and schedules provided by a statistics expert companybiographies, historical records, team profiles and other useful background information. Hard-copy reports, such as start lists and results reports will also be distributed to pigeonholes at the MMC as well as to journalists and broadcasters in venue tribunes and in venue media centers. Flash quotes, press conference highlights, previews and reviews, will also be available for media and broadcasters at competition venues and the MMC.
The purpose of the photo service is to provide media with images from the Qatar2015 event for print or online viewing purposes. The libraries for the World Championship are updated on a daily basis during each match of the game with photos from all three venues. "Find Photo" feature will help media to search with keywords such as participating countries and athletes. Even though all images are watermarked and under Qatar2015 copyright, images can still be downloaded in both low and/or high resolution for editorial purposes to promote either handball or the State of Qatar as the host country.
Apart from that, the 24th Men's Handball World Championship is a unique opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to Qatar's 2030 Vision and further enhance the image of our nation to a global audience. Sport is in our hearts! I would like to emphasise the team work at the M&B Committee, which plays a huge role in making this mega event a unique experience for media. This wouldn't happen with the full support we have from Dr Thani Al Kuwari Director General, Organising Committee Qatar 2015.
Q: How can this sport-specific content provided by media & broadcast promote handball on a global scale?
A: Sport is associated to human effort and is not just statistics, scoreboards and sporting achievements. It is much more: This is exactly what we want to demonstrate, that behind every success story, a big win or a dramatic loss of a handball game, there is the human element, all the virtues sport promote and above all highlight the fact that Sport is an integral part of life. We, at Qatar 2015, will offer to the World's media stories that will enhance their reports and will offer an insider's view of what will be happening during the event.
Q: TV viewers from all over the world will see those images produced from Qatar 2015. How was the cooperation with beIN sport, the host broadcaster - and how will their production ensures a successful event?
A: BeIn Sport has established three separate production teams that will cover activities in all venues that will be used during the Championships, in order to ensure that the TV coverage will be of the highest possible standards. We acknowledge the global popularity of handball and we want to make sure that all fans, no matter where they live, will have a world-class TV show unfolding right before their eyes. beIN Sport has planned to have wide distribution based on territories of Europe, Asia, America, Middle East, Oceania to cover more than 150 million TVs globally. Generally, we offer right holders open / indoor studios, commentator positions and booths, ENG positions, flash interview area in front of the field of play and mixed zone to all media, along with Stand up positions. In addition to broadcasters with studios inside arenas, including but limited to: beIN Sports Arabic, Al Kass 1, TV2 Denmark, DR DK, and SBS Sweden.
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