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An Ethiopian cultural performance enthralled the audience at the Summer Entertainment City at Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC) last weekend.
The performance was part of the Qatar Summer Festival (QSF), organised by Qatar Tourism Authority and delivered by QSports.
During the show at the DECC where a number of activities are taking place including rides and games a mini zoo, shopping souq, food court featuring a number of food stalls, football fan zone among others, the venue felt as though a small Ethiopia was thriving within Doha.
The performances included traditional songs and dance representing traditions and styles of different parts of Ethiopia. Besides, there were on display the Ethiopian coffee ceremony and Ethiopia's traditional spices.
The event was held in collaboration with the Ethiopian embassy in Doha.
Ethiopian embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Feisel Aliyi Abrahim said that the group was from the Ethiopian community cultural team.
He reiterated that the occasion gave them a chance to showcase Ethiopia."We showcase Ethiopia's trade items such as the Arabica coffee and spices."
He added that the platform provided them an opportunity to project Ethiopia's tourism potentials."We displayed publications that showcased what Ethiopia can offer," said Abrahim.
Since Ethiopia has a special coffee ceremony, visitors were treated to the sweet aroma of Ethiopian coffee. The coffee beans were roasted before the eyes of the guests and the coffee was brewed as they waited."We showcased how Ethiopian coffee is prepared. The coffee ceremony was appreciated a lot by the people."
Abrahim said that the performance was held next to the football fan zone and this helped to attract many people to their displays.
Talking about the variety of performances, Abrahim said that Ethiopian culture is diverse so the performances represented different strands of the country's traditions and regions."In Ethiopia, we have 80 different ethnic groups in a population of about 104 million. Therefore, whenever we get an opportunity to showcase Ethiopia, we display different cultures representing different Ethiopian tribes such as Amharas, Oromo, Tigrayans, Gurage, among others."
Abraham said that the Ethiopian group performed on Friday and Saturday and the performances were a success. He pointed out that the performers from the community are also taking part in various activities going on as part of the QSF."Ethiopians come here to do their shopping at the Summer Entertainment City. They also bring their children to have fun including enjoying the games and the rides."
He said that Ethiopian community takes part in different events that take place in Qatar."Ethiopians in Qatar are involved in quite a number of events that take place in Qatar."
According QSports founder and board member Adil Ahmed, they try to engage the communities through embassies which in turn provide groups from their respective communities to stage performances.
The community cultural performances have been great. So far Bangladeshi, Indonesian and Ethiopian communities have staged performances attracting a lot of people. Philippines will stage their cultural show this weekend."
Ahmed said that the cultural shows have been a success."The performances take place in between the football matches and this has attracted a lot of people."
Joyce, a visitor at Summer Entertainment City said,"I watched the Ethiopian performance and found it really entertaining. I am happy that we have these kinds of events whereby everyone gets entertained."
The Summer Entertainment City is open from 2pm to 11 pm every day and the entry fee is QR15. This year, the day pass price has been lowered. It costs QR150 for entry besides 40 tickets and access to five virtual reality games. There is also the season pass which comes for QR 699 with validity until the end of QSF which will conclude on August 31, 2018. The holders can go to the Summer Entertainment City every day.
