Concrete, searing heat and £12 beers: inside Doha’s World Cup fan festival

Admittedly Lindhout did also urge western fans to find a middle ground between their values and those of the conservative Gulf state, which was certainly more on script. But moments later she again insisted that the culture in Qatar had changed. “Respect the culture, use your common sense but nothing is forbidden at the Fifa fan festival,” she added. “We are very proud of it.”

In truth, at 1pm on Wednesday afternoon the festival did not look like a venue poised to charge up the Tripadvisor tourist charts. At a media showcase hours before a Michael Jackson tribute act launched a test event to iron out any late teething problems, it mostly resembled a giant concrete car park with overpriced food (a tiny Greek salad cost £10, a slice of pepperoni pizza £8) and little escape from the 32C heat.

However, Lindhout dismissed fears that it might be too hot for fans. “It is definitely hot, but there are enough areas where there is a shadow and we have enough refreshing beverages so I do not see a problem,” she said. “People have to use their logical minds – and dress for the occasion. Wear your shorts, wear something light and enjoy some refreshing beverage.”

England fans will not be overwhelmed to learn that there is just one beer stand, selling Budweiser for nearly £12 for 500ml. Or that they will face a long queue reminiscent of a passport control in a European airport post-Brexit, to buy a maximum of four beers.

That said, there appears no limit on the amount of beer that can be ordered throughout the night. Which might lead to familiar problems when tensions are running high and the booze is flowing freely.

However, Lindhout claimed Fifa would try to give some leeway for fans to enjoy themselves while others remained safe. “We want an experience for all fans but safety is important,” she added. “I think with the security measures in place we will be fine.”

On the plus side fans will also be able to see the World Cup and Jules Rimet trophies in the Fifa museum near the giant screen that will show the games, as well as a range of famous jerseys, including Roger Hunt’s from England’s 1966 World Cup victory and Diego Maradona’s from a 1986 warmup match.

And as the sun began to set, and 20,000 locals began to stream in to see the Michael Jackson impersonator belt out the hits, it began to feel more like a real event. Not everyone is convinced, mind. When the Guardian posted pictures of the venue on social media, several users reckoned that: “This World Cup is going to be Fyre festival and Woodstock 99 rolled into one”.

However, Mead Alemadi, who is in charge of the Fan Festival, is confident it will be an overwhelming success. “We’ve waited 12 years for this and we’re so happy to see all this happen,” he said. “People here will be having fun, looking at live matches with the best view of the Doha skyline. This will be the best festival in the history of the World Cup.”

Perhaps. But that will depend what happens inside this cavernous 300,000 square-metre venue in the next month – and that, sadly, remains an open question.