Launched earlier in June, Doha Festival City’s World Ocean Day initiative will be extended throughout the month of July, to continue to work to raise awareness about rare species of Qatar’s marine life.

Doha, Qatar – 28, June 2021:  Doha Festival City, Qatar's one and only choice for shopping, dining and entertainment, is delighted to announce the launch of an exclusive ‘Dive under the sea with Hawksbill’ display, as part of its World Ocean Day community initiative, available for visitors until July 24th  throughout the mall operating hours. Held under the umbrella of the Mall’s community programs, ‘Festival Cares’ and ‘Qatar Unites Us’, the initiative is designed to spread awareness about rare species inhabiting Qatar’s marine life, including the stunning hawskbil sea turtles. 

Located in the Entertainment node, the display unveils the life cycle of the rare Hawksbill Sea Turtle, of which three species live in the Qatari sea waters. Belonging to the family of Cheloniidae, with a great importance for the regional marine life ecosystem, the turtle is now critically endangered and might become extinct if not protected. The display educates visitors about these rare species and their habitat, and other marine species in Qatar, as well as ways to keep the ocean clean and preserving the marine life while still enjoying quality time at the beach. 

Robert Hall, Festival City General Manager, said: “Being the first sustainable mall in Qatar, we aspire to further educate the public about the importance of protecting the environment. We are pleased to offer our visitors a unique opportunity to explore the marine life in Qatar, and get to know the endangered hawksbill sea turtles, while driving attention to the key issues related to biodiversity and ocean’s life preservation as part of our corporate social responsibility engagement”.  

Committed to the mission of raising awareness about key environmental issues amongst Qatar youth, Doha Festival City will also continue its “Save the Ocean Kids Art Wall” featuring the best kids’ artworks about the Ocean and its marine life until June 30. 

Doha Festival City’s is also home to a large collection of environmentally friendly brands who have joined this initiative – including Harvey Nichols, &Other Stories, H&M, COS, Tavola, The Body Shop, will also exhibit their sustainable collections and products in glass pods around the mall until June 30th. 

As the first sustainable Mall in Qatar, Doha Festival City received a Level 3 certification by the Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) for its environmentally friendly design and build. The Mall saves 30% of traditional water consumption levels through highly efficient faucets and sanitary fixtures, applies cutting edge strategies for filtering, collecting, and treating storm and sanitary water to avoid waterway contamination, while using natural cooling techniques to boost its energy efficiency. Recognized as a sustainable development leader in the retail sector in the region, Festival City is committed to delivering on green strategies as part of its corporate social responsibility mission. 

Doha Festival City opening hours are Saturday to Wednesday from 10am to 10 pm, and Thursday to Friday from 10am to 11pm. In line with the preventative measures set out by the authorities, Doha Festival City has introduced stringent health and safety measures throughout the mall for its staff and visitors. This includes a thorough mall disinfection treatment on a weekly basis, robust cleaning, and sanitization operations during mall trading hours, 225 hand sanitizing stations installed in the areas that have commonly touched surfaces.