The first Red Bull Flugtag Qatar pre-flight briefing held at the Renaissance Hotel. Qassim Rahmatullah
DOHA: Forty-six teams out of 135 applicants were chosen to compete for the first Red Bull Flugtag Qatar, set to see thousands watch the fun event at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) Park come November 1.
Since the event kicked off in Vienna in 1992, Qatar is the fourth country in the region to host the Flugtag which means ‘flying day’ in German.
Other countries in the region where the event has been held include the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia where a 35,000-strong audience watched it in Jeddah last December, say organisers.
Red Bull Flugtag makes everyone’s dream of flying come true in a funny and creative way. The unique event features exclusively human-powered aircraft with creative designs that will try to fly without any engine.
The teams were selected based on the creativity and uniqueness of the sketches they presented. They will work on building their aircraft to compete for the crowd’s and the jury’s attention.
About 30,000 people are expected to watch the event at the MIA Park, which would be an exciting one-day festival to be held under the patronage of H E Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad Al Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums Authority (QMA).
The competition will be held in collaboration with Ford, as one of the main sponsors, Innovations Unlimited ME, the event management agency and QMA and MIA as the host of the venue.
“Many teams have signed up and we are very excited to see such great interest in the event,” said Markus Jordan, Managing Partner, Innovations Unlimited ME.
“We are working very closely with the Red Bull team and the QMA to create an amazing day at MIA for all participating teams and the Doha community. It’s going to be as much fun for the spectators as it will be for the contestants.”
The teams gathered at Renaissance Hotel Doha on Saturday for a briefing on the competition rules. Teams will be evaluated upon three main factors — creativity of the craft, showmanship and flight distance.
They will also have to perform an entertaining show for 60 seconds to impress the crowd and the jury before taking off and landing in the water.
Paul Anderson, Ford Middle East’s Marketing Director, said: “We’re really excited to be supporting the first Red Bull Flugtag in Qatar, and help participating teams take their flying dreams further. As usual, Ford will be integrated into the event, adding fun elements as we reach out and engage the youth with our latest technologies and models.”
The Peninsula
