DOHA, 18 December 2006 — Next Asian Games host, the southern China city of Guangzhou, would have a tough act to follow as far as media arrangements and media facilities in Doha are concerned.
Veteran mediamen who covered the 15th Asian Games here were all praise for the high standard of operations at the Main Media Center and the arrangements made by the organizers.
Needless to say, work was practically a breeze for the more than 6,000 members of the media who came down to Doha for the games. The biggest and best-ever games were also the most widely reported.
Ali Al-Shatti, veteran television reporter at Kuwait TV — Youth & Sport, explained that as Arabs we try sometimes to look for the negatives because we are not used to this level of organization before.
For example one might say that the buses are not moving quickly, but it is because they follow a certain schedule of every 20 minutes or so. So we should organize our time not blame them, he said.
This year the preparations and organizations were massive, he added. “They even brought people who are professional in pouring the tea and welcoming the guests at restaurants and bidding them goodbye when they leave, which is a gesture we do when we invite guests to our homes.”
As a TV reporter Al-Shatti said that he has been covering international sports events since 1974 and encountered problems in the past to air live when other TV reporters are recording live and the sound of all get mixed and distract them. This year, however, there are cabins for TV reporters in order for them to air live from the stadium where the match is running, and priorities go to the TV reporters whose country is playing. The sound of other TV reporters did not mix or affect anyone, very impressive, he said. Free meal per day given to all media representatives from the best kind of food and variety of choices, was another great offer and gesture from a very generous country like Qatar, Al-Shatti said. Spending money on transportation and moving from Internet café to another to send the materials or from one venue to another were indeed a challenge at many previous championships.
In Doha, however, correspondent Yan Zi Jian from Jiefang Daily in China found no such problems. Facilities and transportation were very impressive. Free shuttles made transportation easy as they moved all media representatives from the Main Media Center to their hotels and sports venues, and always on time, he said.
Mohammad Howis, press photographer at Al-Thawrah newspaper in Yemen added those who managed to come and cover the Asian Games in Qatar were really lucky. Even photographers had their own places where they can upload their photos or take the pictures itself without waiting for the reporters computers to be free. Sometimes the computers were not enough but the wireless network everywhere was great.
In addition, the festivals were part of the media representatives’ discussion. Lena Liew, journalist at the Pertubuhan Berita Nasional Malaysia (Malaysian National News Agency) said that it will not be easy for anybody to outdo the spectacular opening and closing ceremony of Doha Asian Games. “It is the result of huge expenditure by Qatar,” she said. Nevertheless, Liew added that we can be sure that Guangzhou Asian Games will have more to celebrate because it will be truly a showcase of what Chinese people are capable of.
They will have Chinese expertise who has won awards, competitions internationally in producing, directing and performing. Their pool of talent is huge, unlike Qatar.
