Woman Films 'Anxious' Scene at World Cup Fan Festival

A woman who was at the FIFA Fan Festival at Al Bidda Park in Doha on the first night of the World Cup in Qatar has described as “madness” the situation she experienced, amid “people … pushing” and “little kids … crying”.

The fan zone at Al Bidda Park has a capacity of 40,000, but as many as twice that number sought entry on Sunday, November 20, reports said.

Instagram user @lizfranciely6 told Storyful that the crowd were “stuffed like sardines”, describing the situation on her Instagram post as “the most unsafe and anxious-ridden experience I’ve ever had”.

“It was about a 45-minute wait and when I got closer to the gate is when people started pushing and little kids were yelling and crying. They could have gotten stomped on or something,” she told Storyful.

@lizfranciely6 also said on Instagram that she had been asked to stop recording. Some of her clips show security personnel trying to contain fans.

ESPN reported that local officials had shut access to Al Bidda Park when the venue reached capacity, but that fans were still in line to get in an hour before the Qatar v Ecuador kickoff at 7 pm local time.

No arrests or injuries were reported. Credit: @lizfranciely6 via Storyful

Video transcript

- Do you think it's helping too?

- Huh?

- Help me too.

- I don't know it.