Qatar's temperatures were the least of the concerns for any of them. What really counted for them, was the size of the bags of cash they were getting by each of the diferent bidders (all were giving bribes, some more , some less).......
The next president is likely going to be another AFC/CAF-backed politician. I can't see them rewarding the USA for destabilising FIFA.
Point being now that Septic Blatter is gone and the AFC not having the presidency... it'll be interesting to see if they revisit 2022.
When I first saw this I thought it was something from The Onion...but no it's being reported by BBC. Is this something that is supposed to appeal to the Wold Cup visitor coming to Qatar? Just add another reason why I don't want to go there. 2022 World Cup: Fans could be housed in Bedouin-style camps http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/35863820
I thought the general complaint was that Qatar will only have soulless luxury hotels pricing out the average traveler? Personally I think this is a pretty good idea, better than the docked cruise ships. I have been to desert parties in the UAE and it was a lot of fun. And the way things are done here I would expect very high standard tents. So if you are thinking cheap open air concert like tents think again. I would expect something along these lines:
I don't mind the novelty, but my questions would be about restroom facilities, security and the density of accommodations. It's one thing to propose this for a couple hundred folks for a brief spell, something else entirely if we're talking thousands of folks staying for possibly a few weeks. And again, the farce about all of this is the idea that these issues hadn't been resolved prior to this point. Prominent issues such as how and where the host will accommodate visitors and teams should be clearly known at the time of the bidding. That the 2022 process was done early perhaps engenders some extra leeway in this regard but not much considering the scope of what's at stake. FIFA (and the IOC for the Olympics) NEED to have clear, well defined standards that are logistically possible and fair to the host, but they should be upheld from the start. No second guessing or "what-if's" after the event has been awarded.
Accomodation was identified as a medium risk in the technical report on Qatar. The main risk was that more than half of the proposed hotel rooms had yet to be built. Interestingly my own nation revieved the same rating on accomodation.
Personally speaking, I'm not against staying in soulless corporate branded hotels, I live 1/3 of my life in them. But I don't like going to soulless restaurants and especially bars, and I want to see things outside the hotel that are unique and interesting to me. This is just my opinion based on having spent a large percentage of my adult life on travel. I'll gladly stay in a Marriott but you won't find me in the lobby bar or the hotel's restaurant unless it's something special. But even for those who do prefer a small quaint, AirBnB type experience, sleeping in a tent is a real extreme, I don't care how nice the tent is! So where is the bathroom? For me personally I really hate shared bathroom facilities for my lodging. For me a tent, no matter how nice, isn't happening except maybe as a one night novelty. That might be cool, but that would be it. Cruise ships are almost as unappealing to me. Way too close quarters, super small cabins, inconvenient getting on/off, no thanks. The whole Qatar experience is sounding worse and worse to me, not improving. It's a long ways off and things can change for better or worse (and the alcohol policy needs to be finalized), but for now I'm thinking my plan is still to maybe, at most, spend a few days there to catch maybe 2 matches and then continue on to another country like Thailand with a good viewing time zone, and a fun place to be to watch the games and other activities for the duration.
I think these would be really cool. I went to Kenya last summer. One place we stayed were these really nice tents...with indoor plumbing.
I'm with @GriffinGunner it's not so much the tents but the fact that the multiple aspects of the bid are being reduced or downsized and yet we still have six years to go.
These are all valid questions but I for one expect the accommodations to be of a very high standard. Maybe even with indoor plumbing. This is a unique opportunity for Qatar to promote itself as a tourist destination in the mold of Dubai. They will go all out, potentially taking a significant loss on all the temporary accommodation. It's not difficult getting people to return to the (more liberal) Arabian Gulf countries. The challenge is getting them to come in the first place due to the many negative preconceptions. At least that is my experience after hosting friends and family from Europe and North America for 10+ years. Fully agree. It's one thing to criticize the tent idea because it's “not your thing ” and another to point out the discrepancy to the initial hotel room commitment. Maybe this is the time to convince Qatar to at least share some group stage matches with the UAE. Dubai alone has 65,000 hotel rooms today. That's 10K more than Qatar promised for 2022. In any case, I expect a number of people to use Dubai as their base and take the 40 min. flight into Doha - especially if Qatar don't align their alcohol laws with the UAE by then (i.e. the serving of alcohol at the hotel pool and beach facilities). Fine, you don't like tents. Although I question whether you have actually been in a high standard one. You should see some of the Ramadan tents here. But these are personal preferences and this option would appeal to a number of people. Let's not complain for the sake of complaining.
It should be pointed out that most of the cities that would have hosted the WC if the US had won their bid had more hotel rooms than the entire country of Qatar. I imagine that's probably the case in most of the Australian bid cities, too.
Between my house and Down Town Chicago on my commute there's probably more hotels than all of the Arab peninsula Nations combined.
This is all well and good, and a perfectly normal aspect of why places seek to host these events. Which means it's yet all the more reason both the bidding nation/cities and the organization offering the event (FIFA, IOC...) to ensure the standards of what's required, what's offered and what's delivered. Unfortunately it's as if the norm of a the host nation failing to meet every promise is simply a bargaining ploy, like asking for a high price in the sale of a house knowing full well you'll accept less. The bidding hosts offer all sorts of concessions and boastful talk of accommodations, new amenities and infrastructure, lavish venues, etc., likely knowing full well they couldn't possibly deliver. FIFA and the IOC become complicit partners in the scheme because all the folks involved aren't truly risking anything. Which brings us back to Qatar. It's really simple: We need FIFA to ratify the standards for hosting and then offer Qatar the chance to meet those standards, alone or with partner nations. If they can meet the standards then all is well. If not then move the event and promise a return to Qatar when they can satisfy the minimum requirements. Simple as.
With all the current event talk about security and safety pertaining to France & the Euro being heated and controversial and full of debate... ...just wait until 2022.
Personally I'm convinced Qatar 2022 would be quite safe, if for no other reason than that even Muslim extremists would see the folly of ruining this event in a (predominantly) Muslim country. Granted, I'm applying logic to the situation, but... If, say, ISIS were to attempt something then they'd risk blowback from not only from western nations but their own kind, as well. They'd paint themselves as simply against humanity and social progress and would become hated by a majority of other Muslims. Goodbye any hope of support from the moderates in the Arab world trying to expand their wealth and influence through commerce.