The music video itself narrated Qatar’s journey from its early pearl-diving days up until the World Cup dream came to reality.
Featuring vocals of K-pop sensation JungKook and Qatari artist Fahad Al Kubaisi, the FIFA World Cup 2022 track “Dreamers” quickly become a hit among World Cup fans after its release.
The music video, which raked up 95 million views on YouTube in just one month, was filmed fully in Qatar. Now, a behind-the-scenes video has provided millions of fans with exclusive access into the making of the clip.
Speaking in the video, BTS’ JungKook described Qatar as “really cool and beautiful” while encouraging people to visit the Gulf state “and make some good memories.”
“I’m so thankful to the Qatari ARMY that came to cheer for me and I’d also like to thank all the other ARMY that heard the news and are cheering for me from afar, ” Jungkook said, referring to the fanbase of the Korean band BTS.
The song topped Billboard’s Hot Trending Songs chart in its first month of release and was the K-pop star’s first number one solo on the weekly Hot Trending Songs chart at the time of its release on 20 November.
Qatar’s development over the decades
The music video itself narrated Qatar’s journey from its early pearl-diving days up until the World Cup dream became a reality, serving an ode to its rich waters before the discovery of oil.
Before the discovery of oil in the 1940s, pearl diving was the driving force behind the Arabian Peninsula’s wealth in the 19th century.
Pearl diving amounted to 75% of the Gulf’s total exports at the time, with a large number being sold to Europeans and royal families around the world.
As the industry began to thrive, pearl divers sang and chanted “Oh Ya Mal” and other similar chants as they embarked on their journeys, some of which lasted for up to four months.
Pearl diving was prominent in the Dreamers videos. Sailors dressed in the wzar, a cloth wrapped around the waist, performed traditional dance moves on the dhow boats.
The giant whale shark that appeared throughout the video also reflected Qatar’s rich waters as well as the animal’s population in the Gulf state.
Qatar has one of the globe’s largest concentration of whale sharks with its waters serving as a safe environment for the sea animal.
The gigantic white-spotted fish had reached 600 in 2020 in Doha alone, a figure that is yet to be documented anywhere else in the world.
