With just over 230 days until the first ball is kicked on 21 November, the Final Draw for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ will set the path for the 29 teams that have qualified so far, along with the eight teams that remain in contention, three of whom will seal the last spots up for grabs in June. The draw will be the centrepiece of a one-hour show – kicking off today at 19:00 Doha time (18:00 CET) – that is watched live in every corner of the globe.
Apart from the draw itself, which will last around 40 minutes, live performances inspired by a striking fusion of traditional and modern will provide guests at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, and fans at home a taste of what to expect from the host country, Qatar. The presenters commanding the most impressive draw stage ever seen will be award-winning actor Idris Elba and renowned sports broadcaster Reshmin Chowdhury.
“I’ve been on many stages before, but this will be a very special one. I’m delighted to present this beautiful show to the world, together with Reshmin. It will be a classic show and somewhat daring,” said Elba.
“I’m beyond excited. It’s been a thrill to find out the qualified teams and see the anticipation everywhere here in Doha, and it’s a privilege to have such a prominent role in the show. As a Muslim woman, it’ll be an extra-special honour to be on stage for this milestone event ahead of the very first FIFA World Cup in the Arab world,” added Chowdhury.
The stage design will showcase the swing and lightness of the dhow boat, the sweeping formations and organic lines that can be seen in the architecture of the Qatar 2022™ stadiums and the natural shapes of the desert dunes.
The show entertainment will include a live audiovisual performance of the traditional musical art of fijiri, composed by Faisal al Tamimi and Greg M. Johnson and starring Ali Al-Haddad, which will feature visuals of iconic buildings around the world – from the Louvre in Paris to the Soumaya Museum in Mexico City. There will also be the debut public performance of the first release from the multi-song Qatar 2022 Official Soundtrack .
Once the audience in Doha and at home are warmed up, the presenters will hand over to the conducting team and the eight draw assistants , who will draw the participating member associations into eight groups of four teams for the final tournament. This will enable players and fans alike to start plotting their respective teams’ path to potential World Cup glory.
Idris Elba is an award-winning actor, producer, director and musician who has consistently shown himself to be one of the most versatile performers in Hollywood.
In 2005, Elba began his film career, highlights of which include the Golden Globe-nominated projects American Gangster, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and Beasts of No Nation. In 2010, Elba landed the title role in the BBC mini-series Luther, in which his performances earned him a Golden Globe Award, an SAG Award and four Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
In 2013, Elba founded his production company, Green Door Pictures, to champion diversity of thought. Behind the camera, Elba made his feature-film directorial debut at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival with Yardie.
Reshmin Chowdhury is a groundbreaking, multilingual English sports broadcaster, who has interviewed the biggest names in world football for over 15 years. She has covered every major domestic and European football competition with BT Sport, talkSPORT and BBC Sport.
She recently anchored both the Summer and the Winter Olympics for Eurosport and UEFA EURO 2020 for ITV Sport and previously spent two years at Real Madrid TV.
Chowdhury is a leading event host, having presented the 2020 and 2021 editions of The Best FIFA Football Awards™, and was a green-carpet presenter of the event in 2018. She has also hosted the UEFA Champions League draw for four years in a row.
Credit: FIFA
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