‘Like Fyre Festival’: World Cup fans’ shock at lacklustre Qatar accommodation

‘Fyre Festival is gonna look like Coachella compared to this nightmare,’ predicted one fan

Video and images showing “luxury” World Cup fan accommodation in Qatar is drawing comparisons with the poor organisation and fraudulent advertising of Fyre Festival.

“Fans’ rooms in Qatar,” posted @SportBible to Twitter on Tuesday, showing footage of basic white canvas tents lined up along a paved area.

Inside, basic single beds and pine bedside tables could be seen, with mattresses wrapped in plastic and no other visible mod cons.

“#Fyrefestival vibes,” wrote one Twitter follower, alluding to the infamous 2017 “influencers’ festival” which left Instagram stars sleeping in emergency hurricane tents and eating budget cheese sandwiches as feral dogs overran the festival’s Bahamas site.

Matt Lamb had the same thought, commenting that Doha 2022 “is going to be #fyrefestival 2.0”; while @Rebareaalne said it was “giving massive Fyre Festival vibes”.

Fans back in the UK were, on the whole, unimpressed.

“That’s an absolute joke man,” commented one user; while another joked: “Looks quite nice, would only pay a fiver a night though.”

“Been saying it for months, these boys ain’t ready - the equivalent of half the country’s population is going. Fyre festival is gonna look like Coachella compared to this nightmare,” said a third fan.

“Got to feel sorry for those travelling to Qatar for the World Cup to pay £180 a night to stay here…” posted the account Football Away Days, sharing the video doing the rounds on social media.

“£180 for a garden gazebo in the desert. Bargain,” wrote Douglas McArthur.

“I heard this is the lunch they get on arrival,” posted a user named Steven, sharing a picture of the infamous cheese-and-salad sandwich given to guests at Fyre Festival

It is unclear which “fan village” is featured in the viral video, which was taken by @Adeltayab69 and initially posted to Snapchat.

Other footage showed bright yellow shipping containers packed side by side, trimmed by concrete and fake grass, with similar Ikea-style bed frames and simple furniture inside.

Fan accommodation went on sale earlier this year, with many units costing hundreds of pounds a night for a minimum three-night stay.

“Fan Village Cabins” in the Free Zone near the old airport were advertised for £175 a night, promising “tea and coffee making facilities, two bottles of water per day, a fridge, bed linen and bathroom towels” as well as a Metro station nearby.

Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy expects 1.5 million foreign visitors during the World Cup.

The country’s government added around 100 new hotels and serviced apartments aimed at providing 100,000 rooms, during the build up to this month’s event - part of a $200bn (£177.7bn) investment in infrastructure.

The 2022 World Cup has been rife with controversy since Qatar was announced as the host in 2010.

An unknown number of migrant workers have died during the construction of infrastructure for the tournament. Sacha Deshmukh, chief executive of Amnesty International UK, said: “Migrant worker deaths are casting a long shadow over the 2022 World Cup.”

Human Rights Watch says Qatari law “discriminates against women in marriage, divorce, child custody, and inheritance”. Homosexuality and gay marriage are illegal in Qatar, where same-sex relationships among Muslims can be punishable by the death sentence.

Last week a Qatari World Cup ambassador told German television broadcaster ZDF that homosexuality was “damage in the mind”.

A spokesperson for Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy said: “We are aware that a number of fans have faced delays checking into select Fan Village accommodation due to owner and operator negligence. A section of units in these facilities, which are delivered and managed by different private entities, have not met the required standards that were advertised to fans.

“While these sites are managed by independent commercial entities, rectifying these issues remains the utmost priority for the Supreme Committee. Full refunds are being offered to fans severely impacted by this issue as well as alternative accommodation which will be free of charge for the duration of their stay.”