The principality threatens with consequences
Transport for London cuts Qatar ads
11/26/2022 at 8:43 PM
From this week, London buses and tubes will no longer display advertisements for Qatar. This was already an exception during the World Cup. However, in Qatar itself, this step is not well received – investments are in question.
Due to criticism of human rights standards in World Cup host country Qatar, London buses and subways no longer advertise the desert nation. The Metropolitan Transport Company for London confirmed “Financial Times”The newspaper stated that no more such advertisements would be shown as of this week.
A few years ago, on instructions from Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, the carrier actually banned advertisements from countries where homosexuality is punishable – although initially there was a tourism campaign from Qatar on billboards in London about the World Cup.
As a response to the boycott of advertisements, Qatar wants to put existing and planned investments in London and other British cities to the test, as reported by the “Financial Times” quoting a concerned source. She told the newspaper that one gets the impression that Qatari investments are not welcome in the British capital and accused the British of double standards.
So far, no official statement has been issued from Qatar. Investments from Qatar are omnipresent in London: the luxury department store Harrods belongs to Qatari investors, as does the towering Shard. The Qataris also own shares in the UK’s largest airport, Heathrow, and in several hotel chains. In addition, the desert country is an important supplier to the United Kingdom in the energy sector.
