All photos by Baba Tamim

After a few delays, Magical Festival Village has finally opened its doors to the public, with decent crowds turning up to check it out on Friday evening.

Located next to Katara Cultural Village, the souq-themed recreational area features a chain of shops, sports areas and a majestic-looking castle.

However, many of its offerings, including an outdoor “ice-skating” rink, have yet to open.

Speaking to Doha News, operations manager Abdullah Aziz said that the area’s shops and other offerings will fully come online later this month.

“We have different branches for different pockets. (Some) 58 percent of the market is functional. Maybe in a week we may have 100 percent opening.

We have outlets from Europe, Asia and the Arab world. We have many surprises and entertainment ready for the people in the coming weeks.”

Offerings

The village is hosting 400 boutique shops that include prominent brands and sell everything from art to fashion and household items, as well as 40 restaurants and cafes.

There’s also a children’s park with illuminated cartoon characters installed, in addition to trampoline and paintball areas for older kids.

Many visitors on Friday said while they bought small items such as toys, they found prices of other goods in the shops as well as the food offerings to be expensive compared to central Doha.

MFV will be open for three months until mid-summer, according to organizers.

The Qatar Tribune reports that the entry fee has been waived for the next few weeks. Operating hours are still being finalized, management told Doha News.

Thoughts?