Written question WQ88261

Welsh Government will be publishing an evaluation report of the Welsh Government-funded FIFA Men’s World Cup activities towards the beginning of Summer. This will include an evaluation on outcomes covering visibility, profile and perceptions of Wales and the overall impact of the activity. It will also set out challenges, lessons learned and recommendations for the future.

Ahead of the publication, I would like to highlight some direct benefits resulting from our engagement in Qatar. This week I am welcoming a delegation from the Museum of Islamic Art for a week-long programme of engagement with Amgueddfa Cymru, that includes a number of female curators from Qatar, to learn and share experiences with the ambition of collaborating on collection exchanges. We have recently organised the promotion of Welsh food and drink exports in Qatar, as well as a trade mission, and officials are following up on investment leads and direct talks with Qatar Airways about reinstating the Cardiff/Doha route.

The FIFA Men’s World Cup provided a global platform to promote Wales like we have never seen before. The activity on the ground in Qatar, the US, London and Wales, alongside a digital campaign telling our story as a nation generated 46 million video views and the highest ever traffic to wales.com.