International sports celebrities descend on Medina Centrale for spectacular grand opening of Megapolis

The city of Doha added on Thursday night a new chapter in its journey towards becoming a regional entertainment hub with the official opening of the highly anticipated Megapolis – a 6,000 square meter family entertainment centre located in the heart of Medina Centrale, The Pearl, Qatar.

Designed as a complete family leisure centre, Megapolis offers an array of games, attractions and activities including Bowling, Indoor Golf, Darts, Billiards, Karaoke, Flight Simulators, a high-tech Gaming Arcade, a dedicated Action Zone, and much more - all under one roof. 

The grand opening ceremony for the new indoor family destination was attended by a number of high-profile dignitaries, business leaders and celebrities, along with the senior management of Aura Hospitality & Food Services–promoters of Megapolis – including Mr. Charbel Mhanna, General Manager of both Aura Hospitality & Food Services and its sister concern Palma Hospitality Group.

Livening up the official opening ceremony was an exciting lineup of shows and live entertainment featuring well-known regional and international celebrities and sports personalities. The celeb guest list included world-renowned cueist Efren Manalang Reyes, considered by many to be the greatest pool player of all time.

Joining them on the night were a number of street artists and dancers who kept the crowd entertained with their amazing skills along with Qatar’s “King of Drift”, Mohammad Al Khayat, winner of the 2015 Red Bull Car Park Drift 2015 Qatar, and Jordanian drifting champion Ahmad Daham, Guinness World Record holder for the longest twin drift – who put on an action-packed stunt show that wowed the public.

Many of these artists and performers will stay on for a few more days to entertain guests visiting the newly-opened indoor family destination.

“As one of the biggest entertainment centres in the GCC, Megapolis is set to redefine the concept of family leisure and entertainment in Qatar, not only in terms of scale and ambition but also the sheer uniqueness of its offerings, providing guests an experience that is wholesome and utterly unforgettable,” said Mr. Charbel Mhanna. “The opening of this mega project represents an important milestone in Aura Hospitality & Food Services’ endeavour to expand our portfolio and market presence.”

Mr. Mhanna added, “While Doha has made tremendous progress in all fields and has transformed into a truly world-class city, the capital hitherto remained undersupplied in terms of entertainment options. The opening of Megapolis changes that, and provides residents and visitors a vibrant, state-of-the-art family entertainment centre that brings an array of unique attractions under one roof. As Qatar prepares to welcome visitors from all over the world for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Megapolis is poised to take its place as the centrepiece of the country’s evolving leisure and entertainment landscape.”

The extensive range of one-of-a-kind attractions at Megapolis includes Boeing, F16 Fighter Jet and Cessna Flight Simulators that recreate the experience of flying an aircraft, complete with real-time take-off and landing scenarios, as well as F1 Race Simulators – replicas of the simulator used by professional race drivers for training purposes – that allow you to feel the adrenaline rush of real-time racing.

The state-of-the-art centre also features an Indoor Golf Simulator that takes the concept of indoor golf to new levels with high-tech course accuracy and visuals, and a fully-fledged Gaming Arcade where you can enjoy the latest in Xbox and PS4 consoles and games which you can play by yourself, against another player or over the Internet with your friends on the other side of the world. Guests can also look forward to enjoying a variety of games and activities such as Bowling, Billiards, Snooker, Darts, Sega Games, Karaoke and more.

In addition to the wide array of games and attractions, Megapolis is home to an eclectic mix of F&B outlets featuring leading international and local food brands. These include Diner Station, a retro diner with a futuristic twist that offers the best of American fusion food; Fruitella, a healthy juice bar offering a tempting array of freshly prepared fruit juices; Earl of Sandwich, a fast-food franchise brand that brings over 250 years of sandwich-making experience; Camille’s, which serves deliciously handcrafted frozen treats using the best ingredients sourced from around the world; and Karaki, a lively tea lounge where guests can relax with a cup of Karak chai that derives its essence from ancient blends.

Located next door to Megapolis is the first Middle East outlet of Cool de Sac – a unique concept from the Palma Hospitality Group and Aura Hospitality & Food Services family that combines kids' entertainment with eating out. An internationally renowned family restaurant and edutainment venue with a presence in the United States, Singapore, Mexico, Colombia and other key markets, Cool de Sac brings a new kind of family-oriented gourmet dining experience in the region that caters to the needs of both parents and children through a unique concept that combines entertainment with creativity and a gourmet dining option for adults.

Cool de Sac features a 100-seat dining area for parents while children can look forward to a host of edutainment activities in another dedicated zone featuring seven main attractions including Play Unit, TOTS, Discovery, Cool Games, Arts and Craft, Backstage and Blocks. Designed to creatively stimulate the development of children of all ages, the interactive activities are organised under the supervision of the restaurant’s hosts – ensuring parents of a completely stress-free outing.