Doha, Qatar, September 12, 2019 The countdown is on exactly 30 days from today, September 12, the inaugural Association of National Olympic Committees World Beach Games, or Qatar 2019, will kick off with a spectacular opening ceremony at the Katara Cultural Village in Doha.
Qatar Olympic Committee Secretary General Jassim bin Rashid Al Buenain said “We are happy to start the 30-day countdown to this historical event in Qatar. Preparations are in top gear and we can’t wait to welcome the world to Doha. We believe Qatar 2019 will set a great benchmark for future events.”
ANOC announced that more than 1,200 athletes from 97 National Olympic Committees had qualified for the October 12-16 showpiece of beach, water and action sports.
All five Continents will be represented at the inaugural Games with 21 NOCs qualified from Asia, 17 from Africa, 19 from America, 35 from Europe and five from Oceania. The qualification process is now closed.
“We are delighted to have close to 100 NOCs. As the first ever edition, we could not be sure how many NOCs would qualify and so it has been fantastic to see big and small NOCs from all over the world qualify,” said ANOC Secretary General Gunilla Lindberg.
“The qualification process has already connected NOCs with an entirely new set of elite national athletes and the Games itself will provide a global platform to connect these new stars and new sports with a new generation of sports fans,” Lindberg added.
